Although
Deal or No Deal host
Howie Mandel has continued to gain success in the entertainment industry, he is hoping his own children will not choose to embark on the same career path.
"I hope my kids never go into show business. That's a scary place. It's not a normal existence for people who are fully mature and adult,” he told the
Toronto Sun late last month. “Strangers coming up to you and complimenting you, and somebody combs your hair and puts your makeup on and dresses you? And just this spotlight show business puts on you is mentally probably not a healthy thing. To put a child into that, the odds of turning out OK are pretty slim."
His fear stems from witnessing- along with the rest of the world- the very public meltdown of several members of young Hollywood, including actress Lindsay Lohan, who is currently facing possible jail time for her most recent DUI arrest.
"I met [Lohan] in '98 when she did
The Parent Trap and she was on my [talk] show. She was just an adorable little kid,” Howie Mandel said. “So to see this adorable little girl turn into somebody so troubled ... and then the spotlight, when you become the butt of everybody's joke. She obviously has a serious problem, an addiction. It's just a horror, and I can imagine how I'd feel if it were one of my kids."
The pressures of being in the spotlight can take its toll on anyone of any age in the entertainment industry, but the
Deal or No Deal host said that he has managed to stay strong with the help of his family.
“I'm surrounded by a phenomenally supportive, wonderful family. My wife's family lives [in Toronto] and that's who I am and where I am,” Mandel, who has been married to his high school sweetheart, Terry, for more than 20 years, said.
Mandel launched his career as a stand-up comedian in Canada in the mid-70s. Not long after wowing the audience during amateur night at Yuk-Yuks in Toronto, he traveled to Los Angeles, where his career continued to blossom. Now, not only is his schedule filled with tapings for
Deal or No Deal, he also manages to squeeze in 280 nights of standup performances ever year. Just last month, he returned to Toronto in order to host the first-ever Just For Laughs Festival gala.
“There's nothing more thrilling than coming home and working at home where I started," he told the
Toronto Sun. "I believe Just For Laughs is a very important event in the world of comedy. It's launched household names, and it's a great opportunity for the audience to see the cream of the crop and see the new up-and-coming and say, 'I was there when...'”
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Sun Media
(Image Courtesy of WireImage)