FRESH AIR
Since joining the Howard Stern Show in 2001, comic and actor Artie Lange has revealed his personal demons to millions of radio listeners. His new book, Too Fat To Fish, recounts anecdotes from Lange’s past, from his stint as a cab driver in New Jersey to his struggle with drug addiction, obesity and depression. Born to a working-class Italian-American family, Lange was a regular on the sketch comedy show Mad TV. His film credits include Elf, Old School and Beer League, which he wrote and starred in.
PREVIOUSLY: God Save Artie Lang, Please
FRESH AIR
In early June 2005, Lange began missing work at the Howard Stern Show, prompting concerns of a possible relapse of past substance abuse. The situation climaxed in Lange behaving incoherently and belligerently on-the-air. He infamously sneered at Howard and crew that: “Artie’s going to do what Artie’s going to do!” Stern later commented that this statement had scared him. Lange missed the entire week of work.
At the time, Lange’s absence from the show went largely unmentioned and was written off as stress from doing the radio show and beginning production of his movie Beer League. The real reason for Lange’s absence was revealed in a spontaneous revelation on the September 21, 2006 episode, on which Lange acknowledged that he was regularly snorting heroin from February to June 2005. Lange discussed past episodes of heroin use, beginning when he was a stand-up comedian and continuing until Beer League was set to begin shooting. Lange detailed his painful withdrawal, which included common side effects such as cold sweats, shaking and vomiting. Lange recalled disconnecting the telephone to avoid speaking to his mother, who ultimately intervened to help him recover. Lange was threatened with legal action by the Beer League producers (whom he later described as having “waste management connections”) if he failed to show up for the first day of shooting in June 2005, which led Lange to secure a home visit from a doctor who prescribed Lange with buprenorphine (Subutex) to alleviate his heroin dependency. Since starting the medicine, Lange has claimed to be free of any illegal substances. n May 2004, Las Vegas station KLAS-TV reported him dead. The story turned out to be a prank executed by Stern Show regular caller Captain Janks.The website artielangedeathwatch.com was started to predict when Lange would die if he continues this lifestyle. Before discontinuing updates, the site projected that he would die at age 53[5]. Since quitting heroin, Lange has gained well over 100 lb (45 kg); on July 26, 2007, it was determined on The Howard Stern Show that he had reached 300 lb (136 kg). [WIKIPEDIA]
THE DINNER PARTY DOWNLOAD
“If this is Jonathan on the other side of this email, my name is Brendan and we knew each other years ago pre-Magnet days at the old Quarry Street Cafe on 3rd Street. I was the chain smoking barista. Right before I moved to Europe around 1999, I recommended you write reviews for an up and coming website named Citysearch. Anyway, a lot has happened since then. You’re a writer of note and I live in Los Angeles for some reason. Recently, I launched a public radio show through my company American Public Media (Prairie Home Companion, Marketplace) that might be a nice addition to your NPR for the Deaf segment, or might be even deserve a mention of its own since it was launched by a Philly Expat and will certainly be helpful to the Phawker audience. Anyway, it’s called The Dinner Party Download, and it’s a 10 minute biweekly show that is designed to help you win your dinner party. Each ten minute episode includes a joke, talking points on current events, an interview with a someone of note, a cocktail recipe, relevant history, a heads-up on an emerging food trend and finally a bitchin song to send you on your way.”
FRONTLINE Presents
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Tuesday, November 11, 2008, from 9-10:30 P.M. ET on PBS
In the wake of yet another hard-fought and bitter presidential campaign, FRONTLINE presents a spirited and revealing biography of Lee Atwater, the charming, Machiavellian godfather of modern take-no-prisoners Republican political campaigns. Through eye-opening interviews with Atwater’s closest friends and adversaries, the film explores the life of the controversial political operative who mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush, led the GOP to historic victories, and wrote the party’s winning playbook. The story tracks Atwater’s rise from his beginnings in South Carolina as a high school election kingmaker all the way to the White House and his subsequent battle with cancer and final search for forgiveness and redemption. To Democrats, Atwater was a political assassin who one Congresswoman dubbed “the most evil man in America,” but to Republicans he remains a hero for his deep understanding of the American voter and his unapologetic vision of politics as warfare. MORE
THE WORLD CAFE
Wednesday November 12, 2008
World Cafe host David Dye is joined by music critic and author, Tom Moon, for a two-hour special on his new book, 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Tom Moon has worked as a music critic for the Miami Herald and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and has contributed to GQ, Rolling Stone, and NPR. After three and a half years compiling and then weeding out, Moon’s 1000 recordings include musical benchmarks from all corners of the earth, from the justifiably familiar to the sorely overlooked. Bookending Johann Sebastian Bach with R&B singer Baby Huey and hard-core punk outfit Bad Brains, the alphabetical catalog sparks curiosity about all genres of music, complete with artist quotes, little-known background stories, and listening notes.
PAVEMENT: Date With IKEA