Friday, Feb. 2, 2007 | 7:10 a.m.
Who: Artie Lange
When: 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Luxor
Tickets: $66; 262-4900
Artie Lange is a blue-collar guy, born in New Jersey, the son of a building contractor.
After his father's death in 1986, Lange became a longshoreman to help support the family and eventually turned his penchant for comedy into a career that took him from the docks to stage, television, film and radio.
His first national exposure came in 1995 on "MADtv." He was a cast member for two years before being fired over his use of cocaine.
In early 2005 Lange began missing work at "The Howard Stern Show." He revealed a few months later that he had suffered a relapse, began snorting heroin but then kicked the habit. He was missing work because he was going through the pain of withdrawal.
"I'm fine now, but whenever I'm out sick, people wonder. But that's my own fault. I've had trouble with drugs since my early 20s. I haven't done cocaine in 10 years, but I had a relapse snorting heroin a year and a half ago. I had to come clean about it on the air. Howard appreciates the honesty. It's hard, a tough thing to deal with publicly. I've been clean a year and a half now."
1. A Vegas connection
"I was in Las Vegas three years in a row doing a show Super Bowl eve at the Hard Rock at The Joint. But then I didn't do it for a couple of years because I took some time off of stand-up, but I got back into it this year and the Luxor made me a really nice offer and I was like, 'You know what? I love gambling on the Super Bowl and I love doing stand-up in Vegas.' So, I'm back.
"The 'Howard Stern' show has gone a bunch of times over the years. Between his show and my stand-up I've been there like a dozen times in the last few years. Last year I did Cinevegas. I starred in this movie ('Beer League') I co-wrote and produced and I got it into Cinevegas and I flew out to the Palms to introduce it. Stayed for that whole weekend, then I came back out to Vegas to do 'The Best Damn Sports Show' from the pool at Hooters' casino. So I made it out to Vegas a couple of times last year."
2. The movie
"Richard Roeper gave it a thumbs up. We're like, 'Wow, we're getting some people that are mainstream to like it.' It got a real small three-city release but it did well in the three cities. It's on DVD now and the DVD is really killing. It's been a definite hit. Me and my friend who co-wrote it have another idea, but we both have full-time jobs - on top of radio I do stand-up full-time.
"I have a lot of opportunities that I didn't want to give up. In this business, who knows? I'm doing a heavy stand-up schedule because now I can make good money doing it. You never know, two years from now you can be begging for work. It's so weird, how the business is."
3. Making (satellite) radio waves
"Just the thought of not being censored at all, just being able to do comedy in the freest form, just sitting there like you're at a local bar with no holds barred, just B.S.-ing with your friends and being funny. Any comedian will tell you that's probably when they're at their funniest and that's exactly what this is like. We're able to do and say anything we want. It's so much fun. There's no language barrier. No subject matter is taboo. We're not going to become obscene or anything, and nobody's going to be hurt, but it's like nonstop fun."
4. Tough gig
"I used to load trucks and ships at the North Port for a living. I was a longshoreman at the orange juice pier in Newark, and I also used to work construction. Look, I tell people, I've done both things - physical labor and talking on the radio - and it's more tiring after talking on the radio and trying to be witty and interesting or funny for five hours. That's why I'm way more tired than after loading ships. It's just draining, mentally. You feel like you're done and you become a zombie. For two hours after you're off the air no one can really talk to you."
5. Careers
"I had a full career before I got on the 'Howard Stern Show.' I did 'MADtv' for a couple of years. I did four or five movies for the studios and I did the sitcom 'Norm' on ABC for couple of years. I was a regular on Conan O'Brien. I had a regular comedy career going, but nothing like what the 'Howard Stern Show' has done for me. Everything I have since then I owe to Howard. It makes you sort of a rock star. Before, I couldn't sell out a 500-seat theater, now I can sell out a 3,000-seat theater."
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