No matter how famous he’s gotten from television, movies, podcasting or producing, Howie Mandel’s always held on tightly to his stand-up comedy roots, pulling off upwards of 200 performances a year amidst everything else.

At various points of the last four-plus decades, he’s judged on “America’s Got Talent,” hosted the game show “Deal Or No Deal,” created the cartoon “Bobby’s World,” voiced Gizmo in the horror comedy “Gremlins,” co-starred on the medical drama “St. Elsewhere,” wrote an autobiography, “Here’s The Deal: Don’t Touch Me,” and became the subject of the documentary, “But, Enough About Me.”

Up next is an appearance alongside fellow comedian/late night host Arsenio Hall at the Hard Rock Live in Gary, Indiana on Sunday, February 2, which prompted Mandel to ring Chicago Concert Reviews with a sample of what fans from any point can anticipate and some insightful glimpses into those iconic projects.

How often have you crossed paths with Arsenio Hall over the years?

Howie Mandel: Oh, a lot. I love the guy. The guy is probably the reason I’m still going. In the ‘90s, when I was having a slow spot in my career, the only place that would have me and continued to support me was “The Arsenio Hall Show,” who allowed me to come on anytime I want and do anything I want.

I got so much exposure from that show. He’s like a hero to me and we remained friends for over 30 years. The fact that we get to tour together only adds to the joy that I have. Regardless of what you’d know us from…stand-up comedy is our first [love].

Can you share a little bit about what to expect at the Hard Rock Live in Gary?

Mandel: The unexpected. We obviously, after all these years, have a ton of material to draw from, but more importantly, if it goes off the rails and it becomes improvisation, we look at it like a giant party and I’m just trying to be the center of attention. But he’ll do time, and I’ll do time and then we’ll do time together.

How similar or different of a vibe is it going to be from your recent album, “Howie Mandel Does A Show”?

Mandel: The truth is that it’s me (laughs). The vibe is really set in the room more than from me, you know? If you go to a party on Saturday, and the next Saturday you go to another party, it’s who’s in the room and what they want to do, or what happened that day, or what’s happening that night. And I think it’s kind of different, because it’s not just me. It’s me and Arsenio together, and we open it up to the audience. We’re having fun and hopefully the audience has a lot of fun too.

What comes to mind about any previous performances throughout Indiana and Illinois?

Mandel: First of all, my first HBO special was done at the Bismarck Theatre in Chicago and I did another special, years later, in Merrillville at the Star Plaza [Theatre]. That’s where I did “Howie Mandel On Ice.” That area is very near and dear to me, and those audiences are near and dear to me, so I’m going to continue that tradition.

Many fans first became familiar with you on “St. Elsewhere” in the early ‘80s. What did you take away from your time on that show?

Mandel: I never pursued acting. I got a chance to make good friends and I didn’t know how good it was until it was over. I just thought that’s what TV was, but it was a great experience. Every experience is great. I’m a stand-up comic, and then I got cast in a dramatic show and I went, “Oh, my God, I didn’t know I was gonna do that.” Then I’m a stand-up comic and they hired me to do Saturday morning. I was hired to do “Bobby’s World,” but I’m a stand-up comic. Then they hired me to be a game host and I went, “I’ve never done this. I didn’t expect to do this and I’m a stand-up comic.” Now I’m judging a talent show. They’ll all the same.

I don’t blaze a trail. I just travel the weird, wonderful path, but the one thing that is always fresh for me is stand-up comedy. If people know me from “St. Elsewhere,” or “America’s Got Talent,” or “Deal Or No Deal,” it’s different in the sense that I don’t think Arsenio and I put on a family show. There’s no editing. The beauty of this versus everything else you see us in, there are no marks to hit. There’s no lines to recite. There’s no commercials to throw to and there’s no language that is off the table.

When you voiced Gizmo in “Gremlins,” did you think it would become such a phenomenon?

Mandel: I had no idea anything was going to become anything. Nobody’s more surprised, thrilled and excited than me that I’m still talking to you about anything. Getting up on a dare to do stand-up comedy in 1977, it wasn’t something I was pursuing, so yeah, nothing I’ve ever done I ever dreamed would be anything and then I’m always more surprised. Did I believe I would still be on “America’s Got Talent” for 15 years? Did I believe that “St. Elsewhere” would be something that anybody would remember, or “Gremlins,” or “Bobby’s World,” or “Deal or No Deal”? I didn’t know any of this would be anything.

What have you enjoyed most about judging on “America’s Got Talent”?

Mandel: I’m first and foremost a fan. Even before I was on the show, I would watch. I watch TV and the internet is 24/7 for me. Anybody doing anything in front of my face is something that I’m compelled to watch, so not knowing what’s coming out, not knowing what I’m gonna see next, and then watching somebody’s hopes and dreams come to fruition right in front of my face is amazing. I’m just a fan. I love everything that anybody at home is loving, except I’ve got a better seat.

Can you recall a few of the super unexpected acts you’ve encountered along the way?

Mandel: Many. Any of my golden buzzers just blew me away. V.Unbeatable, all those kids from India that were tossing people two stories in the air to land on a bamboo pole. It’s so scary, so exciting, so thrilling, or a guy by the name of Horse, who was willing to get hit in the nether region and took a shot at in the nether region. This was his talent. It ended up getting him six episodes on MTV of like a “Jacka**” show. I’m always surprised and that’s what I look for.

Do you have any “Deal Or No Deal” contestants you’ll truly never forget? What are your reflections on being such an iconic part of the program in general?

Mandel: I did 500 episodes of those, but the one that stands out for me is the very first one, Karen Vann, because I didn’t know what I was getting into. That was who made me realize that this is a real person with real hopes and dreams, who had a family and no insurance, and no real safety net, so this money was life-changing. It meant something. And that’s when it kind of informed who I became on that show, like I threw away all my ideas of trying to be funny and really entertaining, and just being real and emphatic.

That’s why I slowed down my cadence and I’d go, (speaks slowly), “The offer is twenty thousand dollars.” I wanted them to hear it and I wanted them to know the gravity of every decision they were making. That was the first time. Up until then, I just had this job I was going to do and I was gonna be on network TV in prime time five nights a week. It was the first time I ever did TV when I wasn’t playing a character. I wasn’t trying to entertain. I wasn’t doing jokes. I was just trying to ensure and maybe help that whoever I was talking to on that stage, left that stage in a better position than they were in when they came.

People yell “take the money” at the TV all the time. When someone didn’t in hopes of trying for more, were you ever just as surprised?

Mandel: That was the hardest thing for me to not say. Yeah, all the time. It was really hard. I thought I was gonna get an ulcer because I would go, “What kind of stupid a** decision is this?”

How did you make the jump to working with your son, [Alex Mandel], on “Animals Doing Things”?

Mandel: Everything that I do is a jump. I work with him now. He produces my podcast and he produces a podcast I do with Harland Williams [“When A Stranger Callz”]. He actually does know a lot about animals and that’s his love, so when we got the rights to that show, he’s there behind the scenes with me anyway. He’s on that and he’s behind the scenes with me on my podcast that I do [alongside daughter Jackelyn Schultz], which is also another highlight in my life, “Howie Mandel Does Stuff.”

It’s also going viral this week with [comedian] Bill Burr meeting his brother, [The Smashing Pumpkins’ front man Billy Corgan]. I do it for YouTube and people listen to it. There’s no comparison between hearing that Bill Burr and Billy Corgan can possibly be related, versus looking at them sitting beside each other and trying to figure out which one is which.

Those are just a fraction of your countless appearances. Do you have any additional favorites, even ones that perhaps aren’t quite as universally familiar?

Mandel: Just really my first “Tonight Shows.” “The Tonight Show” meant a lot to people in my business at that time in the ‘80s. Joan Rivers took me on with my first appearance, and then Carson saw that and I ended up doing 22 appearances with Johnny Carson. Those were great, and then my first show ever was “Make Me Laugh,” so that’s where I started in the ‘70s, ‘79. Those were the things that kind of stand out to me.

Many of these subjects are part of your documentary, “But Enough About Me.” What do you want fans to learn about you and possibly themselves?

Mandel: I don’t think that way. I just do it, and whatever you get from it, you get from it. I’m enjoying myself, and am thrilled to be here and that anybody’s interested in anything that I do. If you learn something, that’s great. If you’re entertained, that’s great. If you find it interesting, that’s great. I had fun doing it and that’s the main thing, whether it was a documentary, or a game, or whatever.

Your earlier book, “Here’s The Deal: Don’t Touch Me,” was very personal about struggles with OCD [Obsessive–compulsive disorder] and anxiety. How did that help open up a conversation long before it became as common to talk about?

Mandel: I accidentally just mentioned it on Howard Stern and it opened up that conversation, and the fact that it opened up that conversation, I became aware that I wasn’t alone. [The fact that] other people did it and are willing to talk about it kind of removed the stigma for me personally. Also, the more people who are out there talking about it, the better off our world is to realize that mental health is as important, and even more important, than physical health.

How are you able to balance all of this with up to 200 stand-up comedy shows a year?

Mandel: I have all day and I’m just working for a couple hours a night. I do a lot of stuff, but not any one thing is time consuming. The podcasts are in real time. I go in and I shoot a podcast for an hour. I do another one with Harlan Williams, I shoot for an hour, so there’s two hours. A lot of people put in 40 hours a week. I don’t think I do.

Is there anything you’re working on you’d like to preview before coming to the Hard Rock?

Mandel: No, the podcast is what I’m working on right now. I’m in my podcast studio as we speak, so listen to it!

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Howie Mandel performs alongside Arsenio Hall at the Hard Rock Live on Sunday, February 2. For additional details, visit HowieMandel.com and HardRockCasinoNorthernIndiana.com.