Bloggers respond to Hoboken resident Artie Lange?s suicide attempt

By Mark Maurer/The Jersey Journal
January 09, 2010, 10:00AM

"Muthagoose Escobar" via Flickr, cc license appliesBloggers react to Hoboken resident and comedian Artie Lange's suicide attempt, which Hoboken police revealed this week.
The Internet was abuzz this week when police reported that Hoboken resident Artie Lange attempted suicide in his apartment last Saturday, stabbing himself nine times with a 13-inch kitchen knife.

He has been released from Jersey City Medical Center, according to USA Today. (The report could not be confirmed as JCMC reps refuse to even confirm Lange was brought to the hospital, citing patient confidentiality laws.)

A representative for Lange told The Jersey Journal: "We have no comment at this time and we hope that the media will respect Artie and his family?s privacy.''

The 42-year-old actor-comedian, who had recently taken a hiatus from ?The Howard Stern Show,? has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, weight issues and depression.

Despite rumors that Lange?s job on the radio show was in jeopardy, a news report airing on Sirius XM?s Howard 100 and Howard 101 channels stated that Lange still has a home at the satellite radio provider, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Luchina Fisher of ABC News mused, ?Lange's suicide attempt has once again exposed the dark side of comedy. Too often, the people who make us laugh are the ones who struggle most with painful personal lives.?

Colby Cosh of Maclean's, a Canadian current affairs magazine, was surprised about Lange?s method of harming himself.

?What strikes me about the incident is that Artie Lange could get his hands on a gun easily enough if he wanted to," Cosh wrote. "Equally obviously, what he did was done in earnest. But self-harm doesn?t always mean that one is pursuing extinction per se. Over the period in which Lange?s personal problems and addictions have been fodder for the show, the comic has talked endlessly about his psychological issues concerning his father, who was paralyzed in a fall when he was in high school.?

Perez Hilton noted that Lange previously attempted suicide in 1995 with sleeping pills and whiskey, as mentioned in his 2008 autobiography, "Too Fat to Fish."

"I was morbidly curious about what was going to happen and obsessively began going over the possibilities. ? I was actually excited and looking forward to whatever lay in store for me," Lange wrote in his book.

Hilton said: "Those are the words of a very sick individual and we really do hope that Artie is finally able to get the help he so desperately needs. We're rooting for him."

Roy Edroso of the Village Voice justified the customary appearance of Lange's name on "likely to die" lists.

"Lange has frequently portrayed himself as a heavy drinker and user of drugs to comic effect...For this reason, Lange frequently appears in internet death pools. Early last year CinemaBlend put Lange at No. 8 on their "100 Most Likely People to Die in 2009" list."

Artie Lange Suicide Attempt: Comedian Out of Hospital After Stabbing Self 9 Times

By Ryan Smith

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lang been released from the New Jersey hospital where he was being treated after he was found in his Hoboken, N.J., apartment with nine stab wounds to his body, police say.

Hoboken Police Detective Mark Competello says doctors cleaned nine abdominal knife wounds and operated on Lange. He has since been released.

Lange's mother found him on the floor of his waterfront home on Saturday.

The 42-year-old comedian was unconscious, but breathing, after stabbing himself with a 13-inch Wolfgang Puck kitchen knife. He was then taken to Jersey City Medical Center.

Police say the stab wounds were self-inflicted.

Stern has spoken of the suicide attempt and said his thoughts are with Lange's mother and sister.

"I work with Artie, I love Artie. Everyone has their demons, including myself, but he's wrestling with some serious stuff. When I heard the news it was too much to bear," Stern said on his radio program Thursday.

On Monday's show, Stern said Lange isn't leaving the program and called him "a tremendous contributor."

Lange has fought a public battle with alcohol and drugs for some time.

Met Artie at a party in Soho about 5 or 6 years ago. He hazed me with Tequila shots. I must have had 6 or 7 shots with him before having to excuse myself. The man is a tank but he has a good heart. I hope he gets the help he needs.

He was wearing a flannel shirt and sweatpants at this sick multi million dollar loft with all these rich assholes walking around. It was pretty funny.

Howard Stern post-2001 or so is pretty bad, but not as bad as FM radio.

Quote:

FM radio destroyed?? With only a couple gaps I'm aware of, there's an FM station spaced every 400 kilohertz on the dial in this area. There are about 30 stations total. Nearly every frequency is occupied and there's a lot of excellent programming.

Next to minimalist, two-channel live recordings and vinyl records, an analog FM tuner has consistently been one of most gratifying recorded music sources I've listened to. Streaming digital audio from internet-based stations, even to a high-end DAC, isn't in the same league thanks in large part to lossy audio compression codecs.

One hell of a way to try and off yourself.

WOW!!!!


from the ny post)

Updated: Thu., Jan. 7, 2010, 10:47 AM
Stern sidekick in suicide try
Last Updated: 10:47 AM, January 7, 2010

Posted: 12:19 AM, January 7, 2010

Troubled comic Artie Lange landed in the hospital after stabbing himself nine times in an apparent suicide attempt, sources told The Post. Lange's frantic mom called 911 Saturday morning after she entered his Hoboken apartment and found the bloodied funnyman, a law-enforcement source said. Lange sustained six "hesitation wounds" and three deep plunges.

A source close to Lange's management team confirmed that the Howard Stern sidekick stabbed himself, adding that his mother had come to visit him that day to drop off food. Surgeons managed to save Lange despite heavy bleeding. "We all have our demons," Stern said on-air this week, referring to Lange's past battles with addiction. "Artie has given this show tremendous moments of great comedy. He's a tremendous contributor. He is a good man. Don't forget how great he is."

I'm pretty sure I heard FM radio this morning, so I dispute the "fact" that it has been destroyed.

No -- I would rather have to listen to Howard Stern than Prairie Home Companion -- but I must confess to liking Car Talk.

Quote:

Its in his book.

Quote:

Very very funny!

Also, Grove Path:
Whether the loss of the Howard Stern Show destroyed FM or not is not an argument. It is a fact. But don't dismay, you still have your precious Prairie Home Companion.

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He drove through Newark and Jersey City to go all the way down to Delaware for drugs? Not too bright is he!

Hasn't he heard of the locavore movement.

As far as FM radio being destroyed without Howard Stern ...well...

He got them in Delaware. Also the loss of stern has destroyed FM radio.

It's in "Not Jersey City" -- but where do you think he gets his drugs?

BTW it's great that Howard Stern is no longer on the airways.

wheres the WM to remove this and tell you about hoboken411?

Is Artie Lange finally in rehab?

Examiner
Liz Brown

Is Artie Lange finally in rehab?

Howard Stern Show fans are bracing themselves for another Artie Lange cliffhanger over the holiday break. Howard Stern Show sidekick Artie Lange has been absent from the Howard Stern Show all week on Sirius XM management's orders, and recently cancelled a scheduled stand-up performance for Thursday night. The series of missed shows and appearances has a lot of Artie Lange fans hoping against hope that the "Baby Gorilla" is finally getting some serious help for his heroin addiction.

The Howard Stern Show fan sites SternShowBlog, SaveBabyGorilla and SternFanNetwork are all buzzing with discussions of whether or not Artie Lange is finally in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. If so, that could mean that Artie Lange won't return to the air for quite some time--if at all.

Others are speculating that Artie Lange is getting canned by Sirius XM for his erratic behavior and sporadic work attendance. Comedians like Nick DiPaolo and Jim Florentine have been picking up gigs in Artie Lange's place and some Howard Stern Show fans are wondering if Sirius XM is already auditioning new comedians for Artie Lange's spot.

Howard Stern and the Howard Stern Show cast have their lips sealed tighter than a vaginal rejuvenation on the Artie Lange issue. On Monday morning's Howard Stern Show broadcast, Howard Stern said: "?I don?t want to offend Artie. I like it when Artie tells the story?.

What story? A story about Artie Lange crawling back under the covers for an unspecified amount of time to bury himself in a sarlac pit of despair? Artie Lange fans are hoping that's not the case.

It was one year ago, right around New Year's, when Artie Lange called in to the Howard Stern Show from a "rehab" in Florida where he was supposedly being cured of his heroin addiction through a series of wheatgrass colonics and positive visualization sessions. That didn't work out so well. By April, Artie Lange was using heroin again, and many fans and Howard Stern Show co-hosts claimed that Artie Lange wasn't the slightest bit interested in kicking the habit.

Some Howard Stern Show fans, though, say that it's time to kick Artie Lange to the curb. In Artie Lange's absence over the past week, the hefty comedian has remained one of the main topics of discussion and many fans have told Howard Stern that he's a sucker for sticking with the beleaguered addict for so long.

On Tuesday's Howard Stern Show, Howard Stern responded to Artie Lange's critiques by saying: ?The show is better with Artie. He?s a great guy and he?s someone I?ll always fight for."

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Stern sidekick reported to be hospitalized

Monday, January 04, 2010

HOBOKEN - Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange was hospitalized in New Jersey on Saturday, according to TMZ.

Lange, a Hoboken resident, has been absent from the radio show since early December.
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A representative of the star told TMZ:

"I can confirm that Artie is in the hospital. Artie has chosen to keep all information on this matter between him and his doctor. There will be no further comment."

In October, when a Jersey Journal reporter tried to interview Lange at his apartment in Hoboken, he told a doorman he was too busy to speak.

At the time, Lange had been going through another stretch in which he was calling in sick for his job on "The Howard Stern Show."

He said at the time in a text message he caught a cold on the flight back from a weekend comedy show, but there was discussion on the show about whether he was "sick or back on drugs," according to Howardstern.com.

In September, Lange pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of sleeping pills, which he said he took the night before a minor accident July 10 in Toms River.

JOURNAL STAFF