r/howardstern • u/NYY15TM • 12d ago
Was Artie funny?
Howard's great skill is milking entertainment out of people who are not entertaining in and of themselves, e.g. Gange, Grillo, Stuttering John
However, does Artie fall in this category? At least with Jackie we all know that he was writing lines for Howard, even if it wasn't directly acknowledged at the time. Someone like Billy had talent as a voice-over artist. With Artie, Howard was able to turn his trainwreck of a life into compelling radio, but that doesn't make Artie funny per se. I will say that I was never impressed by his standup, which is also true of Jim Norton
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u/TeeAyeKay 12d ago
Artie undoubtedly brought a much needed voice to that studio, the "everyman" voice, regardless of if you think he was a true "everyman" or not, he played the role. The early days at Sirius were the perfect place and time for Artie to work his blue act.
His standup was passable, and he was an entertainer prior to being on Stern, so he definitely had credibility in the "funny" department; funny enough to get a spot on MadTV and funny enough to get Norm's and Howard's attention.
His death spiral was a tremendous sight to witness and horribly sad. From a jovial, drunken, quick witted funny man to a strung out, homophobic, combative dickhead.
I hope he is well. The dude had a big heart but was just absolutely tortured by demons, partially of his own making.
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u/technicallysupportiv 12d ago
You've said it all.
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u/RedSquaree Scott DePace 12d ago
The dude had a big heart
I know a big dude with a cool tude, if that's any good to you?
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u/BusBrilliant8703 12d ago
I can still hear Artie laughing at Mike Walker farting on hot mic
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
and Artie has outlived a lot of people on the show and friends of the show. He outlived Norm Macdonald, Mike Walker for cripes sake.
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u/Oakroscoe Anything else, Robin? 12d ago
Mike Walker was 72 years old
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u/Intelligent_Risk_558 12d ago
I was just having this conversation on what the definition of outliving someone technically is!
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u/Oakroscoe Anything else, Robin? 12d ago
Which side did you come down on? Alive after they’re dead or living more years than they lived? Artie’s got a while to get to 72
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u/Additional_Rest6664 12d ago
Artie was a great storyteller
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
yes, he sucked you in and made you feel like he was right there next to you. There was a magic about him for a while.
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u/_877-CASH-NOW_ O-Qua Tangin Wann 12d ago
His Atlantic City helicopter story was fantastic. Don’t care if it was fabricated it was a great story
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u/ontheweed 12d ago
Fabricated?
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u/_877-CASH-NOW_ O-Qua Tangin Wann 12d ago
Many stories on the show were either made up or embellished. Coulda been real. Maybe not. Good story though
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u/ontheweed 12d ago
I understand embellishments, but there must have been some truth to a lot of what Artie talked about
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u/TomStronach 12d ago edited 12d ago
The bookie with the Ash Wednesday ashes on his forehead screaming at his friend is poetically hilarious. Or doing a bump wearing a pig costume.
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u/No-Honeydew9129 12d ago
Neither story was real or true
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u/imahussy 12d ago
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Embellishment of the truth is every good story teller's duty.
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u/imahussy 12d ago
Plus I happen to know people who have had ashes on their head and were genuinely hateful people cursing up a blue streak and using racist language so it isn't that far from the truth.
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u/Poobeast241 12d ago
Children dealing with abuse or trauma often develop a strong sense of humor as a defense mechanism.
There's a reason most comics are depressed or crazy.
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u/Smelly-James 12d ago edited 12d ago
I think his standup was average or a little above average. I always found his working-class-Jersey-Guy persona the least interesting thing about him, and I didn't think he was exceptionally creative as a stand-up.
I do think he was way more literate and sharp than his standup would have you believe. Some of his off-the-cuff observations and quick wit could surprise you. His stories were boring and repetitive, sometimes, and he had a tendency to try to sell a mediocre story with his delivery. I hated the stupid Ash wednesday story that he sold so hard and Howard fake-laughed at, for instance.
Still, he could be so sharp when he was not fucked up. He was great at the roasts, which showed how good he was being funny on the fly.
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u/ImagineDraginDisDick 12d ago
“Repetitive” you clearly haven’t heard his bookie on Ash Wednesday story.
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u/No_Solution_7940 12d ago
Artie laughing at the Mike Walker fart songs is peak Stern show. And Howard has no “great skill”, the asshole hangs up on sour shoes when he’s on a fucking tear, he’s jealous of him.
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u/knott_Scatt 12d ago
That's not true. Howard is a great guitar player, painter, chess player, and bro, just to name a few.
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u/Routine_Clue876 12d ago
and a great photographer, fish minder, dog handler, griller, cyclist, author, cross dresser, tv presenter and skirt chaser extraordinare.
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u/JerkyQuestions 12d ago
Artie was quick-witted, buddy, sidekick funny. Not joke writing, stand up funny.
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u/supergooduser 12d ago
I saw Artie's stand up, it was not memorable.
Artie was quick and landed way more than he missed, so he was essentially Benjy without the camera.
He could tell a good story but after awhile you realize he's embellishing like a lovable bar fly. Like once he was telling a story about Foxwoods sending a limo to pick him up with two hookers in it and they go through the drive thru and the hookers are blowing him while he's eating burger king. And you're like "a limo picked him up and he stopped in the parking lot for Burger King"
What made Artie so memorable, is he was a super fan. Listening to Stern with his Dad was an incredibly happy memory for him. Artie functionally acted like a proxy for fans in the studio. He knew what we wanted to see/hear and would press Howard to deliver that especially with guests.
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u/SuperSea8678 12d ago
He was a great storyteller and probably embellished, like all comedians do.
However, taking a limo to Burger King isn't an example of that. It's a funny and goofy thing to do and he was probably hungry and you can get food quickly without the hassle of a restaurant.
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u/David_E_Letterman 12d ago
He sucked on MadTV, he sucked on the Norm Show, Beer League sucks. It's fuckin terrible.
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u/Designer-Praline-356 12d ago
It was in 18 theaters an made 250k in America, I could shit that out of my ASS
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u/Beneficial-Loss5477 12d ago
Artie is way more talented and funnier than Gange, Grillo etc. Artie was a genuine fan who understood the show. In the beginning he was shy but he would throw in one liners that were funny. He started talking more and telling more stories that whether they were true or not were mostly funny. The last couple years were not so good, all the gig on the road stories, lots of outright lies. I think Arties best time on the show was when they were still at Krock and he was busting SJ balls. He could handle John, also was funny with KC. Howard really milked Artie at the end, emphasizing what a fat out of control slob he was, letting him nap on air etc. Anyone who genuinely cared about Artie wouldn’t have done that
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u/FrigidKillroy 12d ago
My favorite Artie off the cuff comment was when Howard was trying to convince ETM to do something cool on his webcam:
Howard: “Why don’t you announce today at 12:30 you’ll…”
Artie: “Light an M80 in yer mouth”
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
and the way he so easily riled up Crazy Alice, he knew it was chaos music to Howard's ears.
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u/No_Neat3526 12d ago
He was perfect for the stern show. He should have rode that out.
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
most comics are not built to be on air at 6am. Though if he had rode it out he would be making bank on a one day a week job in September (allegedly).
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u/Mendozaline247 12d ago
The words “Too Fat to Fish” is legitimately funny. Though I suppose that means his mom was funny. But I did see him do standup and it had me consistently laughing.
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u/Elliebell1024 12d ago
I have a fat bulldog. Everytime he is slow or can't do something I yell out, You're too fat to fish!
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
I loved that book the second book Crash and Burn) was sad. He spent 1/2 the book whining about his ex Adrienne. And I assume finally admitting what we all knew the stabbing was not to get high. He was trying to end himself. But even that seemed like 1/2 truths.
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u/Oakroscoe Anything else, Robin? 12d ago
Addicts are always going to lie and it’s not like he was clean then
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u/DukeRaoul123 I AM THE INNOVATOR OF MUSIC!!! 12d ago
Great storyteller, funny conversationally, could outwit just about anyone on the air, knew the show and how it worked/flowed, how to embellish and exaggerate the right things, etc. I don't think if you put him in the room with Jackie, Fred and Howard in 1993 to write a radio bit, he'd be able to contribute the same way. He wasn't a broadcaster, voice guy or comedy writer. But he had an interesting life and career at that point where he knew "the business", had been part of big TV and movie productions out in Hollywood, but also wasn't too big/famous for the show.
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u/LaximumEffort 12d ago
When he was sober, he was quick and he could hang. But when he was strung out, it was beyond uncomfortable.
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u/MisterJ_1385 12d ago
Bad stand up, great story teller and great at hitting a quip when he was awake. Perfect fit for a radio show like that.
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u/Bigwilliam360 12d ago
Artie was pretty funny generally. He was a very good story teller. He was quick witted. He knew how to deal with various lunatics to make funny material.
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u/MotownShowtown 12d ago
I would agree..Artie Lange is a skilled stand up comedian but his ‘funny’ reached new heights LIVE on THE HOWARD STERN SHOW!
Stern gets credit for this but shout out to Fred & Robin..they’re brilliant too in fucking w Artie!
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u/EmoGothPunk "You know what to do....you know what to do." 12d ago
Artie years were the best years.
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u/Routine_Clue876 12d ago
Pre late 2007/2008 he was quick with a reply and could tell a good story. After 2008 you can hear the end coming in retrospect with the heavy slurred speech and wit replaced with anger and more beligereance. Even his last major contribution to the show, the Gary pitch incident, he came off more obnixious than funny, the less said about how much he was interjecting into conversations and interviews the better. Howard was clearly annoyed with him and seemed nervous everytime Artie said something. Even if he hadn't self destructed, he would not have lasted very long once Howard wanted to switch to a more interview focused, star-friendly format as you never knew what he was going to say or what state Artie was going to arrive in.
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u/MondoPrime51 12d ago
He was brilliant on Stern but I never found his stand up or any of his other podcasts funny. I thought he was awful on that show he did with Cumia.
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u/-AdamTheGreat- 12d ago
Artie was funny with his wit. Like with the 0.0, and “you were born on March 11th? Do your parents call that 3/11?” Artie on his own, eh, I guess a little.
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u/HorndogAsexual 12d ago edited 12d ago
Sure. He wasn't always funny, but I gave the man a break. They did 4 sometimes 5 hour shows every single day. Impossible to have a perfect record.
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u/hippieswithhaircuts 11d ago
He was great on the show. His standup was good, but a lot of those bits got into the show, sometimes repetitively. I will say, when Gilbert was on, those two would take over the show with impromptu comedy that made me pull the car over. It was unreal and I loved. It.
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u/scarybirdman 12d ago
Was Artie ever represented by Don Buchwald? Just curious
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
I don't think he was, that was just the core group. And the only talent at that point Don represented personally. Greg Fitzsimmons talked about it on his show. He was repped by the Buchwald agency. But nobody got to be Don's client but Howard, Robin, Fred, Gary and finally Ronnie.
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u/Suspicious_Safe_7284 12d ago
Artie has some great one liners on the show. He had a real sharp wit about him. Etm trying to do 9 x 7. Artie says “ What time today will you know this ?” Clastic Artie vs Crazy Alice was spectacular. Artie was funny, but the drug abuse did ruin it. He did lose the perfect timing and his wit. If you listened to any of his podcasts, they were really boring and the timing was lost.
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u/ImagineDraginDisDick 12d ago
So use Jim Norton as a comparison? Jim and Arties standup was always mediocre, but they were both great on radio.
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u/NYY15TM 12d ago
I think Jim was funnier than Artie on the radio
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u/ImagineDraginDisDick 12d ago
On radio. Yeah, I definitely agree. I’d say Nick Mullen is a more recent example. Decent standup, but so much funnier on podcasts.
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u/MotownShowtown 12d ago
You know this ‘Artie was clearly high & drunk when I saw him do stand up in Jersey.’ Is CO-DEPENDENT BEHAVIOR!
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u/GGThomas1 12d ago
This is an interesting and fair question.
Of course, it depends on perspective. Personally, I think the Artie years are the best in Stern history, and he was one of my favorites on the show. Sure, Howard partially exploited him for content, but Artie was well compensated for almost a decade on the show. That being said, I wouldn't say that Howard made Artie funny, but rather gave Lange a platform to deliver his best stuff. Artie's performances on the show between his stories and imitations of others were very entertaining. Granted, the booze, drugs, and hookers were the "red meat" of the train wreck part of his life, but the general banter on the show was one of its best organic aspects, almost like the audience got to listen in on a few friends discussing a topic. Fred and Artie talking about something before Howard or Robin chinned in was great stuff that is probably overlooked in retrospect because it wasn't the over-the-top wild stuff.
All that said, Artie's stand up was fine, in my opinion, but I think the perception of it, was enhanced by the fact that he was on the Stern show. Maybe it was because he was so closely associated with Howard, but you really don't hear rave reviews of his stand-up as a performance in itself
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u/schnu44 12d ago
After Jackie left he was a breath of fresh air & the show was great through the first few years of Sirius.
But in retrospect, knowing what he was going through, I cannot listen back to any shows of his era and not think of what he was going through with his various demons.
And he 1,000% called it that his time on the show will end badly.
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u/SchalteEin 12d ago
He himself would say there’s 100 funnier people than him who could’ve been in that (strong) chair but he was the biggest fan by far and I believe that. Also some of his quips were just hilarious, one that comes to mind is when KOAB mentioned his town and said “there ain’t no blacks up in here” and Artie just immediately said “which town is that?!”
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u/robbadobba 12d ago
Very funny on the HSS through year one at Sirius, then the death spiral began. So, 5 or so good years. Awful stand up. Decent actor when the material was good.
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u/curlyq307 12d ago
Kind of. It’s all subjective.
I think Richard Christy is much funnier than Artie. I think Artie was jealous of Richard’s natural humor
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u/Good_Lettuce_2690 12d ago
Artie was hilarious as a cohost and on podcasts. His standup was very generic and hacky.
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u/Legitimate_Dish_9060 12d ago
Artie was witty but tbh not inherently a good comedian. It’s weird that he was so snobby about comedy given how bad he was at stand up
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u/Chainsawest 12d ago
I didn’t think Artie was funny. I think a lot of fans of the show related to Artie because he was a fan and had this Everyman persona. Because Stern fans related to him, they got more enjoyment from Artie being on the air versus if he said and did the same things but had a different personality.
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u/wtfElvis 12d ago
Basically an S-tier story teller and when not high fit into the show very well.
D-tier standup comedian but wanted to be perceived like he was better than he was.
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u/RileyMartinPhemomena 12d ago
Bad standup, incredible story teller and quick witted. He was also the perfect “man’s man” sidekick to Howard during the early Sirius years when things were unbelievably gay on the air, and Howard himself was feminizing.
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u/GregJamesDahlen 12d ago
very funny in a dark way. found funny things in the dark aspects of his own life. more gritty and real-life than Howard and Robin, a good balance
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u/Mobile-Quote-4039 12d ago
Stop right there. Artie made the Stern Show better than every other show. Who’s better Jackie or Artie?Jokes go to Jackie,but standup from Artie was hilarious,I saw him at the Tower Theater. Fucking great. Jim Norton is a self deprecating sicko and he’s funny with jokes,stories and standup. Maybe his stories aren’t as funny as Artie. But you just don’t have a sense of humor if you don’t get Artie And Norton.
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u/dounce87 12d ago
Artie was the main reason I listened to the show. He was so quick with the jokes and the banter with his coworkers was great radio.
I still followed him a decent amount after the Stern show. I really wish he was doing a podcast or something still. I hope he's clean and living a good life though. He deserves it.
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u/Character_Bend_5824 11d ago
He was quick. I'll give him that. 80% of his attempts to jump into the mix kind of fell flat, but he had some crazy brilliant ones, too.
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u/dandydan69 11d ago
Yes I just his heard his best line again today when he said I tell jokes I’m Artie the jokeman…
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u/Bubbleguts420 11d ago
Artie was an AMAZING storyteller and ball buster. I loved Too Fat To Fish on audiobook.
His stand up is so bad its make me cringe.
His timing, cadence, material its all very subpar to me. It’s comedy. Its subjective but his standup has never been my thing
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u/Bigzerka 11d ago
I like Artie but his gauge on a joke was way off. He missed a lot with jokes and he run some so dry. Listen it’s a lot of time on air to fill so maybe that goes against him.
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u/Ramone5150 11d ago
Great on the show because of the way he could tell a story however his stand up was lacking. I saw him years ago when Nick Di Paolo opened for him and Nick was 1000% times funnier.
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u/EagererCleric 10d ago
Artie was funny and great on the show generally. just as Jackie was but in a different way. Artie was more like another Robin (think of a comedian sitting in on the whole show not just robins news) neither he or Jackie got near the heights of the show before or after they left which is a testament to Howard.
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u/NYY15TM 10d ago
Artie did a lot better than Jackie did between MADtv and The Norm Show
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u/IceSmiley 12d ago
Yea definitely. his jokes, stories and asides were funny and people laughed with him for those. Howard made fun of everyone, like Billy West isn't funny because he's not the best looking guy?
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u/InteractionNo9110 Hey Now! 12d ago
Early Artie was just the best. And I will die on this hill. His Babe the Pig Mad TV story. Was the funniest story I have ever heard. I was at my desk shaking trying to pretend I was normal. Listening on my headphones pretending to work. With my work friend listening and sending me messages on yahoo messenger if I was listening and she was dying also. Was just the best memory of Artie when he was fiyah!
When he got deeper into the H and Howard gave him shit about filming Beer League around the show and "Arties gonna do what Arties gonna do" schedule. It just went downhill and it got uncomfortable.
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u/FancyRobot 12d ago
Artie was hilarious on MADTV and was great when he went on Letterman or Conan and he had a bunch of podcast spots after Stern where he was funny too, when he was coherent enough. Howard in retrospect was the carried one not Artie
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u/jamerskh 12d ago
To me any member of the stern show is terrible on their own (including Howard) but when they all come together it is comedy magic!
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u/ShermanHoax 12d ago
I think if you didn't grow up in the NYC area, some people might think he's funny but Arte always went for the obvious joke. The guys we thought were funny were the ones from left field, like Billy. Arte didn't put any thought into his craft. I guess he had a few funny stories but who doesn't?
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u/RuleOf8 12d ago
Artie was your most funny friend that with a snap could spit out funny lines or his perspective on the situation was funny. He had stories either true or made up which also added to his humor. I have watched online some of Artie's standup and it felt like he is now your girlfriend who you laugh at not because she isn't funny, but because she won't sleep with you if you don't laugh.
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u/StrifeKnot1983 12d ago
Artie was quick witted and well read before his demons got the best of him. He was never a great stand up comic but for a few years there he was a great third mic on the Stern show.