Arthur Steven "Artie" Lange, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, radio personality, and author
best known for his tenures with the The Howard Stern Show and the comedy sketch series MADtv.
He was also the host of a sports and entertainment radio show called The Artie Lange Show.
Lange performed his first stand-up comedy routine at 19 years of age. He took up work
as a longshoreman to help support his family following the death of his quadriplegic father.
In 1995, Lange starred in the first season of MADtv before leaving halfway through the
second due to cocaine abuse and his subsequent arrest. After a period of rehabilitation,
Lange featured in Dirty Work with Norm Macdonald, who brought Lange into the second season of
his sitcom, The Norm Show. In 2001, Lange joined The Howard Stern Show until December
2009 when a suicide attempt in January 2010 led to an eight-month stay in a psychiatric
ward. In 2011, Lange returned to radio with Nick DiPaolo to co-host The Nick & Artie Show.
In January 2013, it was renamed The Artie Lange Show after DiPaolo's departure.
Lange has released two recordings of comedy performances–It's the Whiskey Talkin' and
Jack and Coke. He co-wrote, produced, and starred in his feature film Artie Lange's
Beer League and co-wrote his memoirs Too Fat to Fish and Crash and Burn.
Early life Lange was born on October 11, 1967 in Livingston,
New Jersey, and was raised in Union Township. His mother, Judy, of Italian descent, was
a housewife, while his father, Arthur Lange, Sr., of German and Native American descent,
was a general contractor. His sister Stacey is a fashion designer. Two weeks after Lange's
birth, his father went on trial for counterfeiting money but was spared jail time out of the
court's sympathy for his young son. In 2003, after some of The Howard Stern Show staff
submitted a sample of their DNA for testing, it was revealed that Lange was approximately
25 percent American Indian. Lange attended Union High School and took
up baseball where he became an all-county third baseman. He spent his free time working
with his father, who in October 1985, became quadriplegic after he fell off a ladder and
broke his back. Money soon became an issue within his family, and Lange's mother took
a secretary job for income. Lange recalled, "We took out a second mortgage. Medicaid paid
for a nurse eight hours a day. When my mother got back from being a secretary all day, she
had to take care of him. Every night, she set her alarm clock to turn him so he wouldn't
get bedsores." In 1987, the family contacted celebrities asking them to donate items for
auction, and Howard Stern, the only one to respond, sent an autographed K-Rock jacket
and said on the air, "Does this guy think that if he puts the jacket on he's going to
walk again?", which Lange and his father found funny. His father died from complications
of an infection on February 1, 1990, four-and-a-half years after the accident.
In August 1985, Lange was arrested for attempted bank robbery. He claimed he was trying to
flirt with the teller by passing her a note that said he was armed and demanded $50,000.
The teller took it seriously, triggering a silent alarm. He was charged with disorderly
conduct and entered community service in March 1986. As part of his probation, Lange attended
the Connecticut School of Broadcasting from March to June 1987 as well as Seton Hall University
for a short time before leaving. On June 12, 1987, at 19 years of age, Lange performed
his first stand-up comedy routine at The Improv in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. "I bombed for
five minutes. Everyone thinks that they can do better. I was unprepared, I mumbled, and
I forgot stuff. But I'm proud that I did it." In February 1991, Lange took up work as a
longshoreman at Port Newark to help support his family.
Career 1990s
In 1992, Lange quit his job at Port Newark to focus on his comedy career. While searching
for such work, his regular form of employment was driving a taxi in New York City. The flexibility
of the job allowed him to perform 20-minute sets at the Comic Strip and resume work afterwards.
Within the year Lange landed a role in a dinner theater play, touring restaurants and catering
halls in New Jersey. He then co-formed an improv troupe called Live on Tape, which led
to the group performing sell-out shows at Caroline's on Broadway in Manhattan. Lange
was taken by William Morris Agency, where he first met Peter Principato, his manager
of ten years. In May 1995, Lange flew to Los Angeles to
shoot the television pilot for MADtv, a sketch comedy show that was picked up by the Fox
network. He landed a role as one of the eight original cast members from 8,000 comics who
were screened, and moved to the West Coast in July. Lange attributed his hiring to the
fact that he fit the John Belushi "mold" that was popular in sketch comedy. His most popular
recurring character on the show was "That's My White Mama". Lange returned for the filming
of the second season of MADtv in August 1996, but his time with the show came to an end
when fellow cast and crew members attempted to have an intervention for him after a cocaine
binge. Lange fled the studio, running through streets with his co-workers chasing after
him. It ended in a supermarket, where he was arrested and sentenced to time served and
probation. Lange attempted suicide for the first time
in 1995, he explained the attempt saying "... ran out of cocaine, so that was depressing. So
I took a bunch of pills and they put me in a psych ward at Cedars-Sinai in Beverly Hills.”
In March 1997 the producers persuaded Lange to enter rehabilitation, and he checked into
Honesty House, a rehab center in Stirling, New Jersey, for two months. His contract was
not renewed for the third season, but Lange would make cameo appearances during the fifth
and tenth seasons, including the show's final episode on May 16, 2009.
After Lange served a short jail term and a drug rehabilitation program, comedian Norm
Macdonald, impressed by Lange's work on Mad TV, offered him a part in the 1998 movie Dirty
Work. Although the film was unsuccessful during its theatrical run, Lange credits Macdonald
and director Bob Saget with rejuvenating his comedy career, leading to several more film
appearances and two lucrative television development deals. He then joined the cast of Macdonald's
sitcom The Norm Show during its second season, staying until its cancellation the following
year. Lange has since described this period as a personal high point but a creative low
point. He enjoyed being paid $35,000 an episode, sleeping late, and being in healthy physical
shape, as well as working with the cast, particularly with Macdonald and Laurie Metcalf; however,
he disliked the show itself, referring to the material as "ridiculously lame, easy jokes."
2000s Lange was introduced to The Howard Stern Show
by his father in 1982. Following the departure of Jackie Martling, the show's head writer
for 15 years, in March 2001, Stern announced a "Win Jackie's Money" contest, in which various
comedians would audition for Martling's seat by sitting in during shows. Those who sat
in included Craig Gass, Doug Stanhope, Richard Jeni, Jeff Ross, Jim Florentine and Ron Zimmerman.
"There were a lot of great funny guys - guys that were funnier than me ... I remember
saying to my manager, 'I am not the most talented guy in this group, but I guarantee that I'm
the biggest fan of the show." After the cancellation of The Norm Show in April, Lange sat in for
a number of shows between May and October before beginning full-time on October 26,
2001. In May 2004, while The Howard Stern Show aired
at the Paradise, Nevada Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, local television station KLAS-TV reported
Lange was found dead in his hotel room. The story turned out to be a hoax.
In early June 2005, Lange missed four days of shows, prompting concerns of a possible
relapse into substance abuse. The situation climaxed in Lange's behaving strangely and
belligerently on the air. On July 27, he infamously sneered at Stern and the staff, "Artie's gotta
do what Artie's gotta do!" Lange then missed the next two days, writing off his absence
as due to stress from doing the radio show and filming his film Artie Lange's Beer League.
The truth for his absence was revealed in a spontaneous revelation on September 21,
2006, in which Lange acknowledged that he had regularly snorted heroin. He discussed
past episodes of heroin use beginning when he was a standup comedian and continuing until
Beer League was set to begin shooting. He then detailed his painful withdrawal from
the drug, which included side effects of aching, cold sweats, shaking, and vomiting. Lange
recalled taking his telephone off the hook to avoid speaking to his mother, who ultimately
intervened to help him recover. Lange was threatened with legal action by producers
of Beer League if he failed to show up for the first day of shooting, which led him to
secure a home visit from a doctor, who prescribed Subutex to alleviate his dependency.
In the days leading up to Stern's departure from terrestrial radio in December 2005, Lange
revealed that he and show producer Gary Dell'Abate were approached by Infinity Broadcasting about
replacing Stern with a show of their own. He claimed he was offered roughly $5 million
to defect, but he and Dell'Abate claimed never to have given the offer much thought.
On April 10, 2008, Lange walked off the show after an on-air argument and subsequent outburst
at his personal assistant, Teddy, resulting in a physical altercation. Lange expressed
his disdain for his assistant of nearly two years because of recent money issues. Later
in the broadcast, Lange returned to apologize and tender his resignation, which Stern accepted.
On April 21, 2008, Lange returned to the Howard Stern Show following a scheduled one-week
vacation hiatus for the cast members. He apologized and took full responsibility for his behavior.
It was revealed that Sirius was allowing him to continue, but that another infraction would
end his employment. Additionally, Lange explained that despite their on-air confrontation, he
and Teddy would maintain their working relationship. In June 2008 Lange embarked on a comedy tour
he named "Operation Mirth" with the United Service Organizations to entertain the U.S.
troops serving in Afghanistan. He was inspired to travel after viewing the documentary film
Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie which was about comedian Jeffrey Ross' comedy tour
in Iraq. As headliner, Lange picked fellow comedians Jim Florentine, Nick DiPaolo, and
Dave Attell to join him, including producer of The Howard Stern Show Gary Dell'Abate,
who served as master of ceremonies on the tour.
On November 11, 2008 Lange released his first book, Too Fat to Fish. The book is a collection
of narrative episodes from Lange's life, from his childhood to his USO trip. The foreword
is written by Howard Stern. The book debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller
list under hardcover nonfiction. The softcover edition was released in June 2009 with a change
to the back cover from the hardcover edition and includes a bonus chapter.
Lange made a controversial appearance on the premiere episode of Joe Buck Live on June
15, 2009, where he exchanged insults with the host Joe Buck that HBO Sports president
Ross Greenburg said "bordered on bad taste" with a "mean-spirited" tone. The show was
cancelled just 2 episodes later, though Buck himself defended Lange and subsequently wrote
the foreword to his next book. On November 17, 2009, Lange released his second
comedy DVD, Jack and Coke, via Shout! Factory. The 80-minute set was recorded live in New
York City. On December 9, 2009, Lange made his final
on-air appearance as a staff member of The Howard Stern Show.
2010s Lange returned to the comedy stage for the
first time on September 27, 2010, eight months after his suicide attempt, performing two
nights at Comedy Cellar in New York City. He mentioned being in a psychiatric ward for
8 months since the incident. On July 6, 2011, Lange returned to radio for
the first time since December 2009, guest hosting in place of Tony Bruno on Fox Sports
Radio with comedian Nick DiPaolo. A caller asked Lange about returning to The Howard
Stern Show, to which he replied: "That would be the greatest thing ever, but you know listen,
I was on the greatest show of all time for about nine years and I put them in a very
awkward situation to say the least. So what am I gonna do? But I love them all and they
were great to me." In 2012, Lange made an appearance as a chemical
truck driver in the Louie episode "Barney/Never." Lange's second New York Times best selling
book, Crash and Burn, was published in October 2013.
Lange hosted the Nick and Artie show which later became the Artie Lange Show until it
was cancelled on April 28, 2014. The radio show had a total run of 538 episodes from
October 3, 2011. On April 15, 2014, Lange went into diabetic shock in Detroit and was
hospitalized for several days. Political views
Lange has said he does not consider himself to be a "liberal," though he is pro-choice,
a supporter of gay rights, and a supporter of unions owing to his former career as a
longshoreman. He has called President George W. Bush a "dolt" and supported John Kerry
in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. He initially supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but has
since changed his mind. When documentarian Michael Moore visited The Howard Stern Show
in 2007, Lange told him that he had changed some of his political opinions because of
Moore's films. Crumbs Bakery offered an "Artie Lange" vanilla and chocolate cupcake, with
partial proceeds going toward the Lifebeat HIV/AIDS charity until its closing.
Substance abuse On August 6, 2008, Lange claimed to have begun
an intensive outpatient rehab program after missing the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget.
On the August 11 airing of the show, Lange admitted to having been back on heroin for
the previous seven weeks. He stated that he had gotten drunk playing pool and was offered
the heroin by someone at the pool hall. Comedian Richard Lewis recommended a therapist to Lange.
On the December 8, 2008 show, Lange admitted that he lied about intensive outpatient rehab
and had only gone to the therapist twice, not even making it through the end of the
second session. On the June 17, 2009, episode of The Adam
Carolla Podcast, Lange revealed that he had been sober for two and a half months, had
lost 45 pounds, and hoped to lose 45 more. On the August 10, 2009 broadcast of The Howard
Stern Show, Stern noticed Lange's weight loss. Lange then confirmed that his current weight
was 230 lb. and that he wished to continue in his endeavor to lose more weight.
2010 suicide attempt On January 2, 2010, Lange claims to have attempted
suicide by stabbing himself in the abdomen with a 13-inch kitchen knife nine times and
drinking bleach. He was found on the floor of his home by his mother and taken to Jersey
City Medical Center, where he underwent surgery. Lange was released the following week. Sirius
stated that Lange would be welcomed back onto The Howard Stern Show following his recovery,
but he has not returned to the show since the suicide attempt. Stern has stated that
he has declined Lange's offer of returning and discussing the incident as he thought
it would not be good for Lange. Filmography
Bibliography Lange, Artie. Too Fat to Fish. Spiegel & Grau.
ISBN 978-0-385-52656-2. Lange, Artie. Crash and Burn. Touchstone.
ISBN 978-1-4767-6511-2. References
External links Official website
Artie Lange at the Internet Movie Database Artie Lange at AllMovie
Interviews Artie Lange interview on Rock 'n Roll Ghost
Artie Lange on National Public Radio in 2006 Artie Lange on National Public Radio in 2008
Artie Lange interview on the Best Damn Sports Show Podcast
Still Breathing: An Interview with Artie Lange Others
Review of "Too Fat to Fish"