Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Artie Lange's Suicide Attempt



(image via indiewire)

After last week's killer appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show -- at the expense of the clearly overmatched Candace Bushnell -- it was a poignant moment indeed when Artie Lange spoke of the moment when he was nearly both the killer and the killed. On this morning's Howard Stern Show Artie Lange, that lovable everyman fuckup, admitted to a "formal" suicide attempt ("formal" was his word). Lange, who for years has battled various addictions (materialism, people, materialism), didn't surprise Howard Stern with this revelation. There is even a callous blog devoted to his Death Watch.

Lange spoke today about a chapter in his new book "Too Fat To Fish" about the suicide attempt in Los Angeles, away from family, when he was working at MadTV. As always, Lange managed to find some humor in that morbid situation. From Marksfriggin:

"(HowardTV news reporter Lisa G) got to her news preview and said she spoke to Artie's sister Stacey about his book. Howard said he hasn't read the book yet himself. He said he has a vacation coming up though so he'll read it then. Lisa said there's a chapter in there that they might want to talk about. Howard said they should, there's no reason to keep that a secret.

"Lisa said it was the chapter about Artie trying to commit suicide. Howard wasn't surprised because he's always trying to kill himself eating as much as he does. Artie said that this was a formal attempt. He said that when he was at MAD TV he ran out of coke, which sucks, and he was out of his mind. He wrote a note to his mother and sister and it was for real.

"Artie said he had some sleeping tablets that were really strong. He took about 25 of these pills and took all of the Excedrin PM pills he had and a half bottle of Jack Daniels. He figured that would do the trick but it didn't work. Artie said the note was short and it was to his mother and sister saying 'Ma and Stace, I'm sorry about this but I can't deal with life for some reason. None of this is your fault, do me a favor and keep on livin, maybe I'll see you again some day.'

"Artie said he changed his shorts before he did that because he didn't want to die in the sweat pants he was wearing."


Actually the whole story could be summed up in that last ridiculous sentence. After the cast and crew found the note and got him into rehab, Quincy Delight Jones -- that's his real middle name -- who was the Executive Producer aty MadTV, where Artie was working, promised the tired comedian "When you come back here, you're [still] gonna have a job."

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2 comments:

Howard Stern said...

to Howard Stern Show:

You are playing al other people 911 calls and make fun or discuss their situation.
I understand why you are not playing Artie's mom 911 call and it only makes sense.
I wouldn't play it either if I would be you.
However, that still make you a hypocrite.
Sorry man.

I'm reading on the internet and I'm tired of hearing what is the reason. There are many reasons.

Why Artie Lange tried to commit suicide?

- His break up with Dana.

- His failure as an actor/producer in the movie business (in his vision).

- The depression caused by various drugs.

-. Suffering from undiagnosed/under-treated bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

- His extraordinary fascination with Hunter S. Thompson.

- The disappointment in the relationship with the new girlfriend.

- The lost of his father.

I'm not a fan of Artie that much but when I found out how he tried to commit suicide I had tears in my eyes.
I love you guys, I love the show with Artie in it and please make sure Howard, he gets professional help, because he will try again.

From NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION
"Suicide risk is highest in depressed individuals who feel hopeless about the future, those who have just been discharged from the hospital, those who have a family history of suicide and those who have made a suicide attempt in the past."

Now that was easy. The main question is how to fix Artie?

Put yourself in his pants, choose your method of suicide and try to imagine what it would take for you to gain the ability to perform such an incredible loss of human preservation act, and you will find the answer.

Anonymous said...

Artie this world needs you in it. You have a beautiful heart. You're a caring soul & you are incredibly funny.
Do what you need to do to get the help you need. I hope you will realize how much people love & care about you, and that your life is important. You can help people through your humor, you are very needed in this world!!!!!
Elena