Artie Lange

His mother Judy (née Caprio) was a housewife while his father, Arthur Sr., was a general contractor. His sister Stacy is a fashion designer. Two weeks after Lange's birth, his father went on trial for counterfeiting money but was spared jail time out of the court's sympathy for his young son. In 2003, after some of the staff on The Howard Stern Show submitted a sample of their DNA for testing, it was revealed that Lange was approximately 25 per cent American Indian. Read Less

Although the film was unsuccessful during its theatrical run, Lange credits Macdonald and director Bob Saget with rejuvenating his comedy career, leading to several more film appearances and two lucrative television development deals. He then joined the cast of Macdonald's sitcom The Norm Show during its second season, staying until its cancellation the following year. Lange has since described this period as a personal high point but a creative low point. He enjoyed being paid $35,000 an episode, sleeping late, and being in healthy physical shape, as well as working with the cast, particularly with Macdonald and Laurie Metcalf; however, he disliked the show itself, referring to the material as "ridiculously lame, easy jokes."

Lange was introduced to The Howard Stern Show by his father in 1982. Following the departure of Jackie Martling, the show's head writer for 15 years, in March 2001, Stern announced a "Win Jackie's Money" contest, in which various comedians would audition for Martling's seat by sitting in during shows. Those who sat in included Craig Gass, Doug Stanhope, Richard Jeni, Jim Florentine and Ron Zimmerman. "There were a lot of great funny guys - guys that were funnier than me I remember saying to my manager, 'I am not the most talented guy in this group, but I guarantee that I'm the biggest fan of the show." Read Less