Howard Michael Mandel is a Canadian comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel is known for voicing Gizmo in the 1984 film Gremlins and the 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, playing rowdy ER intern Dr. Wayne Fiscus on the NBC medical drama St. Elsewhere, and creating and starring in the Fox children's cartoon Bobby's World. He has also been a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent since 2010, and Citytv's Canada's Got Talent since 2022. He hosted the American NBC and later CNBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts.
America's Got Talent is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007, following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network's summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program's history. The current host is Terry Crews.
The first season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 21 to August 17, 2006. The season went into production a year earlier than planned by Got Talent creator Simon Cowell. Cowell intended for Britain's Got Talent to debut before AGT in 2006. However, production was suspended due to internal conflicts within its British television network. David Hasselhoff, Brandy Norwood and Piers Morgan were the show's first judges, with Regis Philbin as host. This season originally had an early format for live round judging and Wildcard acts, which would be changed after the season's conclusion.
The second season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 5 to August 21, 2007. The network originally intended for it to run during its winter schedule that year, but opted against it following concerns over it clashing with other popular programs at that time. After the success of its first year, additional episodes of the series were commissioned by NBC, with changes being made to the program's format for the new season. These included the addition of a "boot camp" stage during the auditions, and the use of the judge's buzzers matching other editions of the Got Talent franchise, particularly after the first season of Britain's Got Talent.
The Passing Zone is an American comedy-juggling duo comprising Jon Wee and Owen Morse. Wee, originally from Minnesota, and Morse, a California native, met at a juggling convention in northern California in 1986 and decided two years later to team up. Since then, the Passing Zone has won 18 gold medals from the International Jugglers' Association (IJA) and holds five Guinness World Records.
Britain's Got Talent is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, it is produced by both Thames and Syco Entertainment, distributed by Fremantle, and broadcast on ITV every year in late Spring to early Summer. The show was originally intended for production in 2005, but filming was suspended in the wake of a dispute between ITV and the programme's originally planned host. Following the success of America's Got Talent that year, production resumed and the programme eventually premiered on 9 June 2007.
Terry Wayne Fator is an American ventriloquist, impressionist, stand-up comedian, and singer. Born in Dallas, Texas, he developed an interest in ventriloquism from a young age, developing both this and a talent for singing. After initially performing with two bands, Fator eventually conducted solo performances, combining ventriloquism and singing with comedy. He gained national recognition for his talent when he won the second season of America's Got Talent, which helped to boost his career.
The fourth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 23 to September 16, 2009. Following the previous season, Jerry Springer left the show due to other commitments, and was replaced as host by Nick Cannon. A number of changes were also made to the program before filming commenced, which included replacing the "boot camp" stage with a round similar in format to that used by Britain's Got Talent, and changing the buzzer format to match that being used by the Got Talent franchise. In addition, the episodes for results in each live round of the competition were also modified. They were broadcast over a one-hour period, and would feature performances by guest stars.
Frances Lee Strong, better known by her stage name Grandma Lee, was an American stand-up comedian who was a talent show contestant on America's Got Talent in 2009. She began performing when she was in her 60s and became known for her off-color humor.
Michael Joseph Grimm is an American singer-songwriter and winner of the fifth season of America's Got Talent.
Alice Tan Ridley is an American gospel and R&B singer and the mother of actress Gabourey Sidibe. Ridley advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC television series America's Got Talent, after previously winning $25,000 in the pilot episode of 30 Seconds to Fame. Ridley released her debut album Never Lost My Way at the age of 63 in September 2016.
John Andrew Quale is an American singer, songwriter, and performer best known by the stage name and persona of Prince Poppycock. Quale, who specializes in musical theater and opera, describes Prince Poppycock on his website as a "roguish operatic dandy."
The fifth series of British talent competition programme Britain's Got Talent was broadcast on ITV, from 16 April to 4 June 2011; due to live coverage of the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final on 28 May, the final audition episode of the series was pushed back a day to avoid clashing with it. As Piers Morgan had departed from the programme the previous year, and the schedule of Simon Cowell made him unable to attend auditions, the producers arranged for Amanda Holden to be joined by David Hasselhoff and Michael McIntyre on the judging panel. Due to Hasselhoff's schedule during filming of the auditions, Louis Walsh stepped in as a guest judge for the sessions he could not attend.
Murray John Sawchuck is a stage illusionist, magician, comedian, actor, and host. Based in Las Vegas, SawChuck has dubbed himself "The 'Dennis the Menace' of Magic," and his shows often consist of a blend of "comical mishaps" that result in illusions and magic tricks. He was featured in the fifth season of America's Got Talent, and is the resident magic historian on Pawn Stars. SawChuck has also appeared as a magic coach on five episodes of the VH1 series Celebracadabra, and has been a guest star on shows such as Reno 911!, Last Comic Standing, Celebrity Blind Date, War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave, and Ring of Darkness.
Anna Graceman is an American singer, songwriter and recording artist whose self-penned songs and music have garnered national recognition. She has been featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, America's Got Talent, and CBS News,
Taylor Williamson is an American stand-up comic and actor. He is known for finishing as the runner-up on the eighth season of America's Got Talent and as a semi-finalist on Last Comic Standing.
Mat Franco is an American magician best known for his personality driven, skill-based sleight of hand magic. He gained fame as the first magician to win America's Got Talent, in the show’s ninth season. Franco went on to produce and star in his own primetime TV specials on NBC, Mat Franco’s Got Magic. In 2015 he created and debuted his live stage show in Las Vegas, Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly, and he is currently headlining at The LINQ Hotel + Experience at the Mat Franco Theater. In addition to winning "Best Magic Show" at the Best of Vegas Awards, Franco's live production was the top-rated magic show in Las Vegas according to Billboard.com in 2021. Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly was awarded Best Show on the Las Vegas Strip again in 2022.
Brian Justin Crum is an American singer and actor from San Diego, California. In 2016, he came to national attention competing on the eleventh season of the NBC TV competition America's Got Talent, taking fourth place.
Dan Meyer is an American sword swallower, multiple Guinness World record holder in sword swallowing, global TEDx speaker, finalist on America's Got Talent, Golden Buzzer finalist on Sweden's Talang, and recipient of the 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine at Harvard University.
Kodi Taehyun Lee is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He rose to fame after participating in, and ultimately winning, the 14th season of America's Got Talent.
