Comedy titan Mandel at Lynn Auditorium May 20

LYNN – If his email responses to questions posed by the Item about his stand-up comedy show are any indication, the audience at Lynn Auditorium is in for a lot of laughs when Howie Mandel comes to town on May 20.Q: With all of your success and reaching a television audience of millions on America?s Got Talent and with other projects, why do you continue to do live stand-up in front of audiences of several thousand?Mandel: I never really thought of it that way. You?re right. I am going to call my agent and I am not sure I am going to show up.Q: What topics can the audience in Lynn expect you to cover in your show?Mandel: The list of topics I have chosen for the Lynn, Mass. audience is: Gluten-free croissants, The art of lyrical dance, and good penmanship. Hope everyone enjoys.Q: Have you been to the Boston area and do you have any particular affinity for it?Mandel: I spend a lot of time in the Boston area and I think the hotel I stay in has an affinity pool.Q: You don?t shy from poking fun at yourself. Have you turned the serious conditions of mysophobia and ADHD to your advantage?Mandel: I stopped poking myself two weeks ago when I started to notice that my finger smelled.Q: People often associate you with your TV mega-hits AGT, Deal or No Deal and for older fans certainly St. Elsewhere. The latex-glove act in your early stand-up work is also memorable. But you were also the voice of the world?s favorite Gremlin. Is there any chance that Gizmo will make it back to the big screen someday?Mandel: That would be nice but for not let?s just stick to my list of topics.The actor, comedian, author, reality show host and judge, game show host and frequent late-night show guest, has been busy this month in Las Vegas working on the sixth season of America?s Got Talent. And in the middle of that, he has a hectic schedule of live shows – May 18 in Montreal, May 19 in New Jersey and the following night at Lynn Auditorium.According to his online biographies, Mandel was a prankster at an early age, once expelled from a high school for impersonating a school board member and contacting a construction company to build an addition to the school. A former carpet salesman, his early stand-up work in Toronto and television shows including Make Me Laugh led to his breakthrough six-year run as Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the award-wining St. Elsewhere. During that time he continued doing stand-up and also did movies, including the voice of Gizmo in the 1984 hit Gremlins, and Gremlins 2 in 1990. He has appeared in dozens of films.Mandel, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and one on Canada?s Walk of Fame, also created and produced an Emmy-nominated children?s animated series, Bobby?s World that ran for eight seasons on Fox. He is more recently is known as the former host of the popular Deal or No Deal game show, 2005-2009, and last year he replaced David Hasselhoff as a judge on America?s Got Talent. And his latest gig is as host of a new FOX show, Mobbed, in which he enlists the help of a flash mob to help make a life-changing announcement to an unwitting and unsuspecting person.Mandel, 55, suffers from mysophobia – an irrational fear of germs – and makes a point not to shake hands. He revealed on a Howard Stern show in March 2006 that he shaves his head not due to hair loss but because it makes him feel cleaner. And he revealed on Regis and Kelly in Oct. 2008 that he also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He is known for doing charitable work these and other causes.Mandel lives in Los Angeles with Terry, his wife of 31 years, and their three children.If You Go?Doors at Lynn Auditorium open at 7 p.m. May 20 for the 8 p.m. show. Tickets range from $28 to $63 and orchestra pit tickets for $73. For tickets visit lynnauditorium.com or visit the box office at Lynn Auditorium, 3 City Hall Square, Lynn, or call 781-598-4000.