| Artie Lange | |
|---|---|
 Lange in September 2006 | |
| Birth name | Arthur Steven Lange Jr. |
| Born | October 11, 1967 Livingston, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, television, film, radio |
| Years active | 1987–present[1] |
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. 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.
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.
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.