Mandel dropped out of school and began his working life as a carpet salesman. By 1979 he owned a number of stores throughout the greater Toronto area. And then, in a flash, everything changed. While in Los Angeles on a business trip, he performed an off-the-cuff set during an "amateur night" at the Comedy Store club. A producer for the comedic game show Make Me Laugh was in the audience and booked Mandel for several appearances during the show's run. A successful stand-up career followed. His first really big break came when he was signed for what turned out to be 6 years on the hit TV hospital drama, St. Elsewhere. He also did movies, including his role as the voice of Gizmo in the 1984 hit Gremlins, and the role of "Maurice" in the 1989 movie Little Monsters. He was also the creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated children's animated series Bobby's World which ran for eight seasons on Fox Broadcasting Company and was later syndicated. Previous Award of Distinction winners include Eric McCormack, Kim Cattrall, Paul Gross, Colm Feore and Paul Haggis.

The annual event is gearing up for their 4-day festival, which kicks off on June 12, 2011. Organizaers have issued an early call for entries for the Banff World Television Festival Program Competition, with two deadlines. Early Bird deadline is January 28, 2011, and the Final submission deadline is February 18, 2011. The Program Competition looks to honour the best programming across all areas of entertainment, including digital media, drama, and documentary.

The Banff World Television Awards is the largest international program competition in the television industry attracting more than 1000 entries for its 29 program categories annually.