Artie Lange is a stand-up comedian and actor who is best known as a co-host of The Howard Stern Show on Sirius satellite radio.  Artie Lange was recruited to join the cast of The Howard Stern Show as a replacement for Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling in 2001.  Since then, Lange’s personal struggles with drugs and alcohol, relationship problems and weight issues have become some of the main talking points of the popular weekday morning radio program.

Artie Lange on The Howard Stern Show

Before joining The Howard Stern Show, Artie Lange was one of the original cast members of Mad-TV.  He was fired from Mad-TV for consistently show up to the set intoxicated.  After minor roles in flop films like “Dirty Work” and “Mystery Men,” Artie Lange landed a recurring role on the short-lived sitcom “The Norm Show” starring his close friend Norm MacDonald.  He was recruited to join The Howard Stern Show after several successful guest appearances. 

 In September 2006, Lange made an on-air admission that he had regularly snorted heroin during the previous summer.  Since that time, his failed attempts to maintain long-term sobriety resulted in Lange gaining almost 100 pounds, breaking up with his longtime girlfriend Dana Cironi, and many missed days of work at The Howard Stern Show.  

Morguefile photo/Keyseeker 

Artie Lange’s on-air explosion

On April 10, 2008, a day before the Howard Stern show was scheduled to take a two-week hiatus, Artie Lange exploded during a live broadcast. He threw a can of soda at his personal assistant and lunged at him. Artie Lange was held back by others in the studio before he hit the assistant, but he was ushered out of the studio leaving the main cast members of the show shaken and distraught. He took a few minutes to cool down in the green room and then returned to the studio a few minutes later to announce that he was leaving the show. The Howard Stern Show ended early that day and played a rerun during what was scheduled to be the final show before the two week vacation.  When the show returned live two weeks later, Artie Lange stated that executives at Sirius radio had agreed to keep him on The Howard Stern Show despite his outburst, but that he would be fired in the case of future incidents.  Over the past year, Artie Lange’s stabs at sobriety have included a stay at a luxury “detox” spa and the hiring of two off-duty police officers to physically restrain him from using drugs.

Artie Lange is Too Fat to Fish

In the fall of 2008, Artie Lange released his autobiographical book Too Fat to Fish.  The stark look at Lange’s decades of drug abuse and depression skyrocketed to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.  Too Fat to Fish gave offered insight into the origins of mega-median's inner demons.  Howard Stern reported that after reading the book, he called Artie Lange at home and said: "the fact that you struggle is a great sadness in my life."

Artie Lange's Suicide Attempt

In December 2009, Howard Stern announced that Artie Lange had been ordered to take a medical leave for the last week of shows before the two week holiday vacation. His last appearance on the show was on December 9, 2009.

'Management' orders Artie Lange to stay home

On the night of Saturday, January 2, 2010, TMZ broke the news that Artie Lange had been rushed to a New Jersey hospital for undisclosed reasons.

Artie Lange 'rushed' to NJ hospital

The Howard Stern Show returned live that Monday, with the King of All Media refusing to comment on Lange's hospitalization.  The New York Post finally broke the gory details of Artie's condition to the world in its 'Page Six' celebrity gossip section on January 7, 2010.  Artie Lange reportedly stabbed himself nine times with a 13-inch kitchen knife in his Hoboken, New Jersey apartment.  He was discovered by his mother who was making a surprise visit to deliver food.

Artie Lange Page Six story exposes violent suicide attempt

Artie Lange suicide attempt leaves Howard Stern speechless

Since Lange's suicide attempt, news reports about the comedian have been sketchy at best.  Stern has stated repeatedly on air that Artie Lange shouldn't be "discussed and dissected" out of respect to his family.  Despite his efforts, Howard Stern Show fans have been relentless in their questions about Lange future on the show and demands for updates about his physical and mental health.

A story released in the May 2010 issue in Penthouse Magazine stated that Artie Lange's sister stated in April 2010 that her brother was "still in bed and barely speaking more than five words a day".

Artie Lange's sister says comedian is 'still in bed and barely speaking'

Despite reports from some news sources that Lange was fired from the Howard Stern Show, both Stern and Sirius XM VP Tim Sabean have stated that Artie will always have a job on the Show if he wants it.  Stern has also repeatedly stated that he will not fill Lange's chair with another comedian.

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