Artie Lange

Arthur Steven Lange Jr. (born October 11, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and radio personality best known for his tenures on the sketch comedy series Mad TV from 1995 to 1997 and The Howard Stern Show from 2001 to 2009.

Raised in New Jersey, Lange first worked as a longshoreman and taxi driver to help support his family, following the death of his quadriplegic father.

Lange was born on October 11, 1967, in Livingston, New Jersey, and was raised in Union Township, Union County.

His mother, Judy (née Caprio), of Italian descent, was a housewife, while his father, Arthur Lange Sr., of German descent, was a general contractor who installed television antennas.

Two weeks after Lange's birth, his father went on trial for keeping $200,000 in counterfeit money for a loan shark, but was spared jail time out of the court's sympathy for his young son.

In August 1985, Lange was arrested for attempted bank robbery.

He claimed he was trying to impress his girlfriend at the time, by passing the teller a note that said he was armed and demanded $50,000.

Once he saw that the teller took it seriously, he frantically threw the note in a nearby trash can and told the teller it was all a joke.

However, the teller triggered the silent alarm.

In 1985, Lange gained admission to Seton Hall University in New Jersey using a connection his uncle had with an employee of the admissions department.

In one early assignment, he received an A grade for a presentation he made, telling stories about his friends and family to the class.

"It was the first time I got a bunch of laughs in front of a crowd of total strangers and it felt amazing to get that reaction from people."

After four weeks, however, Lange had become bored of studying and began to think of ways to quit.

On October 18, his father fell off a ladder while installing an antenna and broke his back, becoming a quadriplegic.

Money soon became an issue in the family; Lange spent a short time installing antennas and his mother became a secretary.

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."

His charge was reduced to disorderly conduct which required Lange to pay $500 in court fees and complete 25 hours of community service in March 1986.

He debuted as a stand-up comic in 1987 and took up the profession full-time five years later, developing his act on the New York City club circuit.

As part of his probation, Lange attended the Connecticut School of Broadcasting from March to June 1987.

In 1987, the family contacted celebrities asking them to donate items for auction.

Howard Stern, the only one to respond, sent them an autographed 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 both reportedly found funny.

On July 12, 1987, at age nineteen, Lange performed his first stand-up comedy routine at The Improv in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.

He recalled, "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."

Lange would not attempt stand-up again for another four years.

In 1988, Lange took acting classes for three weeks from Sandy Dennis at HB Studio in New Jersey; he quit after he could no longer afford them.

Lange's father died from complications of an infection in 1990.

Lange cites Richard Pryor, Richard Lewis, and George Carlin as early influences.

In February 1991, Lange supported his family by taking up work as a longshoreman at Port Newark, loading ships at its orange juice pier.

In 1995, Lange moved to Los Angeles to star in Mad TV.

His arrest for cocaine possession during the second season led to his departure and subsequent rehabilitation.

In 1997, Norm Macdonald chose Lange to co-star in his comedy film Dirty Work (1998), which secured Lange further acting roles, including a role on Macdonald's sitcom The Norm Show.

In 2001, Lange returned to New Jersey and joined The Howard Stern Show; during this time, he also released two comedy albums, co-wrote, produced, and starred in his feature film Artie Lange's Beer League (2006), and released his first book, Too Fat to Fish (2008), which entered The New York Times Best Seller list at number one.

In August 2003, Lange found out he is approximately twenty-five percent Native American after submitting a sample of his DNA for testing.

Lange attended Union High School, during which he played baseball and became an all-county third baseman.

His poor grades required him to attend summer school in order to graduate.

After attempting suicide in early 2010, Lange completed rehabilitation and hosted The Nick & Artie Show with Nick Di Paolo from 2011 to 2013, after which Lange hosted The Artie Lange Show until 2014.

During this time, Lange released his second book, Crash and Burn (2013).

From 2015 to 2017, Lange hosted The Artie Quitter Podcast which was followed by a recurring role in the HBO series Crashing and a stint as co-host of The Artie and Anthony Show with Anthony Cumia until 2018.

That year, he released his third book Wanna Bet? and put a hiatus on his career following a series of arrests and drug rehabilitation.

After becoming sober, Lange resumed stand-up and launched Artie Lange's Halfway House podcast before he entered another hiatus in February 2022.