Artie Lange

Arthur Steven Lange Jr. (born October 11, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and radio personality. He is best known for his tenures as a sketch performer on the television series Mad TV from 1995 to 1997 and as the third mic of The Howard Stern Show from 2001 to 2009. Raised in New Jersey, Lange's father was paralyzed in a workplace accident, prompting him to work as a longshoreman and taxi driver to support his family. He debuted as a stand-up comedian in 1987 and turned professional five years later, breaking through at Caroline's on Broadway and developing a storytelling-driven act on the New York City club circuit. In 1995, Lange relocated to Los Angeles to join the inaugural cast of Mad TV. His tenure on the series was severely disrupted by his worsening cocaine dependency, which resulted in a suicide attempt and a subsequent drug-related arrest in 1996 that led to his departure. Following a period of severe depression and development deals with Fox and NBC, comedian Norm Macdonald cast Lange as the co-lead in the comedy film Dirty Work (1998). This exposure secured Lange further television roles, notably as a series regular on Macdonald's ABC sitcom The Norm Show from 1999 to 2001. Lange returned to the East Coast in 2001 to replace Jackie Martling on The Howard Stern Show. During a peak tenure on the program that was periodically disrupted by a severe heroin addiction, he released two comedy albums, co-wrote, produced, and starred in the feature film Artie Lange's Beer League (2006), and authored his first book, Too Fat to Fish (2008), which debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. Following an impaired live broadcast in December 2009, Lange was placed on an indefinite leave of absence, marking his permanent departure from Stern's show. His career was further disrupted in early 2010 by a severe suicide attempt that resulted in a lengthy psychiatric and rehabilitation stay. Upon his recovery, Lange returned to broadcast media, hosting several independent radio programs and podcasts—including The Nick & Artie Show and The Artie Quitter Podcast—and co-starring in the HBO comedy series Crashing. He also authored two subsequent memoirs detailing his struggles with substance abuse: Crash and Burn (2013) and Wanna Bet? (2018). Following a series of drug-related arrests and court-mandated treatment between 2018 and 2019, Lange achieved sobriety and briefly resumed stand-up before entering a permanent retirement from entertainment in February 2022.

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