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>> 'HOWARD STERN' PERSONALITY GOES BEYOND COMIC CLICHÉS ARTIE LANGE IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

December 11, 2008 12:35 am

BY BEN SELLERS

Artie Lange calls half an hour early and asks if it would be OK to go ahead with a scheduled phone interview.

"I've gotta crash," he says.

The words themselves carry a lot of weight coming from the oft-troubled stand-up comic and radio personality from the "Howard Stern Show."

Lange's confessional memoir, "Too Fat to Fish"--which recently peaked at No. 1 on the New York Times' best-seller list for hardcover nonfiction--details his past struggles with depression, gambling, alcohol, cocaine and heroin, among other things.

For several days prior to the interview, Lange has called in sick to the Sirius radio show, with speculation running rampant from his "Stern" cohorts that he may have fallen off the wagon again.

"I said on the air today I've gotta go to a doctor," Lange explains. "He was telling me that I might have a [expletive] bleeding ulcer, which is the worst."

However, Lange adds, he should be OK to perform his stand-up act tomorrow at Washington's Lincoln Theatre.

"I feel better now--even if it is an ulcer, it's treatable. So I should be fine."

FROM GORILLA TO GO-GETTER

Lange, 41, who first rose to fame as one of the original cast members on "MADtv," now lives in the ultimate fishbowl.

Not only are his foibles a frequent topic of conversation on the show, but fan sites such as savebabygorilla.com pore over his every health issue at length. (The site derives its name from a nickname given to Lange by insult comic Don Rickles on the set of the movie "Dirty Work.")

Yet Lange's public persona belies his genuine drive to succeed in show business, he says.

In the eight years since he joined the "Stern Show," he has written and released his own movie, "Beer League." He has made television appearances on "Rescue Me" and "Entourage." He released a stand-up DVD, "It's the Whiskey Talkin'"--and has even taken his act to Afghanistan with the United Service Organizations.

"You know, I look like a slob, but I'm a bit of a go-getter," Lange says. "I bought my mother a house to prove it."

BEYOND BELUSHI

Though he has outlived fellow heavyweight comics John Belushi and Chris Farley by eight years (both died of drug overdoses at age 33), Lange still draws the occasional comparisons to them on the air.

"In the beginning, I was a little bit of a rookie, it used to bug me," he says. "But at this point, it's so commonplace--it's like getting up in the morning."

Fans might see traces of Belushi's Bluto Blutarsky or Farley's lovable-loser characters in his comedy, but Lange doesn't limit himself to one style only.

"If I have a funny opinion about it, I'll write about it," he says. "I don't understand certain comics who pigeonhole themselves."

Lange's stand-up, which he describes as "guy-oriented, probably blue-collar-type humor," is mostly rooted in his personal experiences and his New Jersey upbringing.

An avid Yankees fan, he includes sports and gambling jokes that Stern listeners aren't likely to hear on the show.

"It's rated-R stuff, but most of it's different than the 'Stern Show,'" he says.

TOO 'FAT' TO FAIL?

With Howard Stern discussing retirement in a few years, Lange's future is an open book--literally, in ways. The success of "Too Fat to Fish" has brought talk of a movie deal.

"Because it was No. 1 in The New York Times and is doing well, yeah, the calls started coming in already about TV, animation stuff and movies," Lange says.

"I would love it if it was done the right way--I think by next week, we might start hearing stuff."

For all the jostling he receives on air, Lange still counts his many blessings.

"The 'Stern Show' has been amazing in every way--it's allowed me to pursue stuff outside of it. This book, this has been one of my favorite creative experiences ever--the success of the book is a great, great gift."

Ben Sellers: 540/374-5423
Email: bsellers@freelancestar.com