With new holographic technology, Howie Mandel keeps his distance — and that’s OK
Howie Mandel was made for Proto, and vice versa.
The legendarily germophobic comic and judge on “America’s Got Talent” has found the ideal platform to get up close and personal with fans. Proto is a new form of technology incorporating life-size holographic figures. The machine is displayed in the lobby of Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club at Linq Promenade. Find it, and sometimes Kimmel, next to the bar.
Proto is a big, white, refrigerator-style box with a glass front. It has been accurately described as phone booth (for those who remember those communications boxes) and a teleporter from Star Trek’s S.S. Enterprise.
How @jimmykimmel (and Guillermo) appears at his club when he’s not at his club … The Proto effect … @reviewjournal #Vegas pic.twitter.com/D1n1cFT5DL
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) October 16, 2023
The human figure, in this case Mandel, appears inside and feels like he is talking while standing near the club’s entrance. But he is actually speaking from Proto Studios in Van Nuys, California. It’s a highly advanced, multidimensional Zoom experience.
“I can see you standing there, with your hand on your hip, in real time,” Mandel said. “This could be a meet-and-greet. You could turn around and take a selfie with me if you want it to. But I can also do so many other things, whether it’s entertain, educate, sell you something. There could be graphics on this, as a touchscreen. But please, don’t touch me.”
As Mandel says, Proto makes it possible for a comic to appear on stage and address the crowd or even perform a stand-up set from a remote location. This opens the possibilities that fans can pay to see a star comic perform “live” but not really in the room.
“I can play as many venues as I like and interact with all those audiences at the same time,” Mandel said. “I can literally do a world tour and never leave my house.”
The 4K video system, from Los Angeles-based Proto, is billed as the world’s first holographic communications platform and patented hologram machine that makes “holoportation” a reality.
Proto won four Innovation awards at the 2023 CES show. The company was founded by its CEO, David Nussbaum, in 2019.
Within three years Nussbaum raised $3 million in venture capital funding for the project. The entrepreneur says Kimmel’s Club is just the start of widespread use of the technology, in Las Vegas and elsewhere.
“I can see our technology being used as holographic greeters in lobbies, holographic dealers at tables, Nussbaum said, following Mandel in the Proto box. “I see it also being used as holographic directors and at some concierge services in places like hotels, in restaurants and department stores.”
Over the summer, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was the first late-night TV show to use Proto, beaming Kimmel and guest Chris Pratt from his studio in Burbank to Disneyland to prank park-goers. Videos from the stunt drew millions of views.
Some of the comedians who have used Proto include Kenan Thompson, Whitney Cummings and Andy Kindler. Jon Stewart’s Stand up for Heroes event at Lincoln Center also utilized Proto.
Mandel says within five years, “Proto” is going to be a verb, similar to how smart phone users have adopted “texting” as a communication term.
“This technology is, I think, as exciting as the iPhone was when it came out,” Mandel said. “I can be anywhere and everywhere without going anywhere.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
