Last November, Howie Mandel turned 70 years old.
If you’re thinking of paying him a compliment on not looking his age, you might want to think again.
Kelly Ripa learned that lesson the hard way this week.
During one tense moment, Howie actually snapped at Kelly, seeming irritated at a run-of-the-mill compliment.
Be careful how you compliment people …
No, we don’t know what’s going on here, either.
On the Monday, March 23 episode of Live With Kelly And Mark, eponymous hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos interviewed their guest.
As is pretty normal, they congratulated their guest, Howie Mendel, on his milestone birthday.
(Birthday compliments that comes months late are a little unusual — but not for a milestone like turning 70.)
“It doesn’t make any sense,” praised. This seemed to set off her guest.
“What do you mean it doesn’t make any sense?” Howie demanded, signaling a shift in his tone and demeanor.
Obviously, Kelly’s remark was because it’s hard to believe that a man in such good shape could be 70.
When Kelly was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, a 70-year-old was someone who keenly remembered prohibition — and they simply did not have Howie’s skin or body or vigor.
Mark chimed int o try to explain, simplifying her statement by telling Howie that it’s because “you look great.”
“That I look great?” Mandel repeated back to him. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
How much of this fight is genuine? At least a little, it seems
“No, no, no,” Howie protested. “I don’t like that because that’s a caveat.”
He explained: “’Cause you tell someone you’re 70, and they go, ‘you look great—’”
To his credit, he did seem to crack a smile when Kelly objected to his framing of her words. But it does seem like this comes from a real place, you know?
Mark, truly one of the greatest-looking dudes on the planet, told Howie that they’re “not saying you look great for 70 [years old]. Rather, “We’re saying you look great and I don’t believe you’re 70.”
Howie challenged the hosts to deliver that compliment “without saying ’70.'”
“No, no. It’s like saying you’re smart for a stupid person,” Howie argued, though it seemed that the absurdity had set in by this point.
The audience cracked up.
Howie leaned into the bit, saying: “‘Oh, you seem smart, you seem smart,’ you see, no, I don’t look good.”
However, he ultimately opted to ease the tension, by simply agreeing that he is “gorgeous.”
Then, Howie revealed the “ridiculous” workout routine that he says has put him in such good shape.
This does sound like a great workout
“Your friend, Jerry O’Connell, got me into the most ridiculous workout I’ve ever done in my life,” Howie revealed.
“I swim but have these cables which I tie onto my ankles,” he described, “and then I attach them to whatever is at the side of the pool.”
Howie continued: “Then he gave me these frying pan paddles and I swim for an hour and go nowhere.”
That is a resistance swimming technique, as each brush of his arms requires much more strength to move much more water.
The real secret may be that Howie gets “so lost in it.” The best workout routines are the ones that you can enjoy.