Artie Lange

Stand-up comic and actor Artie Lange was part of a tradition of self-deprecating comedians whose no-holds-barred humor mirrored their off-screen propensity for self-destruction. Much like Chris Farley, Sam Kinison and John Belushi before him, Lange also suffered from punishing addictions to drugs and alcohol that resulted in lost opportunities, physical ailments, and eventually, a horrific suicide attempt. As part of the inaugural cast of "MADtv" (Fox, 1995-2009), Lange's future in TV comedy looked bright, until a botched drug intervention by his castmates led to an arrest, jail time, a stint in rehab and Lange being let go from the popular show. He found a comedic ally in Norm MacDonald, with whom he co-starred in the feature film "Dirty Work" (1998) prior to being brought along for MacDonald's short-lived sitcom, "The Norm Show" (ABC, 1999-2001). He later transitioned to radio, replacing Jackie Martling on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2001, during which time he wrote, produced and starred in the low budget feature "Artie Lange's Beer League" (2006) and penned the best-selling memoir Too Fat to Fish in 2008. Although a suicide attempt in early 2010 marked an all-time low for the comedian, Lange eventually returned to radio as one-half of the sports talk program "The Nick and Artie Show" in 2011. Blurring the lines of art and reality, Lange's personal demons continually fed his biting comedy even as they ultimately threatened to destroy him.