Pulling Covert Pranks with Alex and Howie Mandel for 'Howie Do It' by Troy Rogers
In a TV age
where everyone wants 15-minutes of celebrity,
shows like the old Candid Camera or Punk'd take
the desire for fame and turn it on its head.
Given the rise of reality game shows, the upcoming
NBC prank series Howie Do It? looks to
be a refreshing breath of comedic air, as Deal
or No Deal host Howie Mandel ventures into
the unscripted reality ring, sometimes in disguise,
to pull pranks on people who think they're auditioning
for a new game show or reality show, or even
a Hollywood blockbuster or television role.
On January 9 at 8pm on NBC, Howie and his crew,
including his son Alex, take to the streets,
the wilderness, night clubs, and the set of
a talk show to make the contestants of Howie
Do It the unsuspecting stars of the latest
hidden reality series, better known as "marks".
Just before the Christmas break, as we look ahead to the early part of January 2009, we found the popular primetime game show host and his son Alex on a conference call where he filled us in on his upcoming foray into the prank world, whether being bald helped him go incognito, if we'll ever see him appear on Deal or No Deal with hair, and how long someone can stand being inappropriately touched by a reporter before canning an interview.
THE DEADBOLT: How much does being bald help you with the disguises?
HOWIE MANDEL:
Well, it's the opposite. You know, in the '80s
my curly hair was my signature piece and then
in the late 90s, and in this millennium, my
bald head is my signature. So I find that even
now if I put on a baseball cap and a pair of
glasses and go to a mall, nobody notices me.
As soon as I take off the hat, people know it's
me. So there are pranks and hidden camera pieces
that we have where I play myself and, obviously,
I can sit without a hat. But the bald head is
much more a hindrance than a help. But hats
are wonderful and wigs are wonderful. And that's
the extent of disguise I have.
THE DEADBOLT: Can we expect to see you show up on Deal or No Deal sometimes with hair, sometimes without, kind of like the way Willard Scott used to do [on the old Today Show]?
HOWIE: Well, I do show up with hair and that is just that little triangle below my lips. It's like bangs but just lower than most.
THE DEADBOLT: How many targets actually get upset that it's not a real game show?
HOWIE: I think after what we put people through, they're thrilled to find out it's not real. I mean we have a game, it's a takeoff on a Japanese game show. We partner two people up, one of them is a mark and one of them is an actor. But the mark - every time he answers a question that's wrong, his partner gets an electronic shock. Well, things go awry and he actually believes that he may have fatally disrupted one's life. And that, just to see - I got to tell you that he's thrilled to find out it's not real.
THE DEADBOLT: Which of Vick's "Man on the Street" hoaxes is your favorite?
ALEX MANDEL:
Oh, that's a hard one because he's doing "Man
on the Street" even when there's no cameras
whenever we're with him.
HOWIE: I know, which one you...
ALEX: Which one do you think?
HOWIE: Inappropriate touching?
ALEX: Oh, yes, that's probably one of my favorites. That was definitely one of my favorites.
HOWIE: You haven't seen that one but we said, how many times can he [touch? Because, as a reporter, you go out there and you have to keep a certain [distance] - Well, even as a human being there are space invaders and there aren't. You have a certain decorum that you have to keep as a reporter. How many times without being slugged can you stand in an inappropriate position, too inappropriately close, or touch inappropriately without somebody stopping the interview? You have to keep the interview going; that's the rule. And they have to continue to answer but you have to touch them inappropriately. His record is seven.
THE DEADBOLT: Did anyone recognize you in Windsor when you guys were taping this stuff?
HOWIE:
Well, in Windsor, yes, I did the live stage;
thousands of people showed up. That was the
other thing that we wanted to do with the show
and we wanted to - I wanted to present the hidden
camera rather than the concept of a clip show;
I wanted it to be a live event. And I wanted
to interact with the clips. So the key was to
present these live in - I mean, in front of
a live audience of thousands.
And ultimately we would know if something was that funny or not. And rather than putting a laugh track electronically or sweeping some [audio] - these people - just to roll these pieces in and see people writhing in their seats and being able to comment on them throughout the presentation - They comment on the pieces and the audience, and interact with the audience is what makes this show bigger and different than most hidden camera. I think we've taken hidden camera and upped it a little bit and made it a little more modern and - for this time and place on television.
THE DEADBOLT: Next season I think you should go incognito as a former game show host, like Jim Perry.
HOWIE: [laughs] There's a blast from the past. Thanks for the idea.
My daughter works with Sears taking calls from customers with problems them and resolves leavingf the customers happy...sometimes the customers are nuts...for example, one customer kept calling back over and over getting more and more discounts untill she got the item free,,,,then she called back and wanted the money back for the insurence policy.
ryan – 782727th st north oakdale,MN
February 14, 2009 - 08:44
Subject: I wish Howie would prank me
Howie rocks he's so cool,but i wish i could be on tv because i love pranks
In a TV age
where everyone wants 15-minutes of celebrity,
shows like the old Candid Camera or Punk'd take
the desire for fame and turn it on its head.
Given the rise of reality game shows, the upcoming
NBC prank series Howie Do It? looks to
be a refreshing breath of comedic air, as Deal
or No Deal host Howie Mandel ventures into
the unscripted reality ring, sometimes in disguise,
to pull pranks on people who think they're auditioning
for a new game show or reality show, or even
a Hollywood blockbuster or television role.
On January 9 at 8pm on NBC, Howie and his crew,
including his son Alex, take to the streets,
the wilderness, night clubs, and the set of
a talk show to make the contestants of Howie
Do It the unsuspecting stars of the latest
hidden reality series, better known as "marks".
HOWIE MANDEL:
Well, it's the opposite. You know, in the '80s
my curly hair was my signature piece and then
in the late 90s, and in this millennium, my
bald head is my signature. So I find that even
now if I put on a baseball cap and a pair of
glasses and go to a mall, nobody notices me.
As soon as I take off the hat, people know it's
me. So there are pranks and hidden camera pieces
that we have where I play myself and, obviously,
I can sit without a hat. But the bald head is
much more a hindrance than a help. But hats
are wonderful and wigs are wonderful. And that's
the extent of disguise I have.
ALEX MANDEL:
Oh, that's a hard one because he's doing "Man
on the Street" even when there's no cameras
whenever we're with him.
HOWIE:
Well, in Windsor, yes, I did the live stage;
thousands of people showed up. That was the
other thing that we wanted to do with the show
and we wanted to - I wanted to present the hidden
camera rather than the concept of a clip show;
I wanted it to be a live event. And I wanted
to interact with the clips. So the key was to
present these live in - I mean, in front of
a live audience of thousands.