There's no question that Howard Stern has gone through an enormous metamorphosis over the past two decades. While the self-proclaimed King of All Media still has a penchant for gross-out humor, his SiriusXM radio show is far more focused on excellent celebrity interviews. He's also toned down the politically incorrect humor, much to the chagrin of a portion of his die-hard fans who've been with him since he first started to capture audiences in the early 1980s.
Of course, much of Stern's success is owed to his menagerie of wacky on-air staffers, including longtime co-host Robin Quivers and producer Gary 'Ba Ba Booey' Dell'Abate. But if you ask many of Stern's old-school fans, they'd say their favorite was Artie Lange.
While Lange's time on The Howard Stern Show was relatively short (2001 - the end of 2009), he made an enormous impact as a co-host and on-air contributor. But fans of the comedian, writer, and actor, know that he's struggled with substance addiction for years. This addiction crippled his relationship with Stern, and many of his other collaborators, and nearly took his life multiple times. It also completely altered the appearance of his nose. Here's exactly how...
What Happened To Artie Lange's Nose?
There's no doubt that Artie Lange had a very tough go of things after he left The Howard Stern Show. While his battle with addiction is what ultimately cause him to leave The Howard Stern Show at the end of 2009, things got so much worse in the months after that.
This is what caused Stern to separate himself from Lange and resulted in the two of them feuding for years afterward. Fortunately, Stern and Lange softened their language about each other in recent years and have even been complimentary. Clearly, there's a lot of love and appreciation there. But also a lot of hurt, which is why they don't have anything to do with one another.
Of course, Lange's struggles continued despite multiple attempts at career comebacks. His addiction persisted and ultimately left him physically scared. Fans started noticing Lange's nose change around 2016. While it went through a few changes, it became increasingly deformed.
During an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience in 2019, Artie Lange explained what exactly happened to his nose, which first blew up in size and then appeared to be pressed into his face.
"What happened to it?" Joe Rogan asked his friend and fellow comedian.
"A bunch of things... 30 years of drugs," Artie Lange said, not just referring to the use of substances but how it landed him in physical altercations such as when he was punched in the nose by a boxer. The incident not only knocked Lange out for 10 minutes but also broke a bone in his upper nose. Another incident resulted in Lange taking glass up the nose.
"I saw one picture of your nose where it was enormously swollen," Rogan said.
"That's after the kid punched me," Lange responded. "That's the chaos that was my life."
But it was when he took glass up the nose that "started the process" of his nose caving in. Lange claimed that those who watched him on the HBO show Crashing could his nose slowly morphing into what it looks like today.
Did Artie Lange Get His Nose Fixed?
In 2019, Artie Lange appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience where he addressed what happened to his nose. Rogan, who is friends with Lange, was suggesting that his buddies organize fixing his nose. But this was something that Lange was hesitant about thing because he would have to go on painkillers. As an addict, this presents a lot of problems, including legal issues.
This is far from the only time Lange has been offered a chance to change the presentation of his nose. But he appears to have the opinion that it stands as a reminder of how bad things got due to his addiction. He also stated that it is a reminder to his younger fans of how horrible things can get if they get into drugs. On top of this all, Artie Lange told Joe Rogan that if he "couldn't breathe" he'd be rushing to fix his nose. But that isn't the case in his scenario.
According to an article in 2021 by Tuko.com, Artie Lange's nose has improved over time. But it's hard to know this since Lange hasn't appeared in public for a while.
Where Is Artie Lange Now?
According to SILive.com, Artie Lange has made the decision to step away from the limelight to focus on his recovery. This is something he has done in the past and, unfortunately, relapsed. But it seems like this time may be different.
SILive interviewed Lange's longtime friend Jimmy Palumbo who noted that the comedian had stayed away from the spotlight for over a year in order to focus on bettering himself. Unlike this time, Lange's previous ventures out of the spotlight have been followed up with near career comebacks, including a revamp of his stand-up tour, a memoir, and starring on HBO's Crashing... But each time, Lange has reverted back to drugs, which has landed him in legal trouble.
After an arrest in 2017, Lange was sentenced to four years probation. He was caught with a number of illegal substances, according to NJ.com. He has popped up since then, including on Joe Rogan's podcast and to congratulate Howard Stern on the release of his 2019 book, "Howard Stern Comes Again". He then created his own podcast but put that on hiatus in February 2022. Since then, he's gone silent.
"[Artie is] doing OK. He’s sober. He’s just trying to put it all together right now. Get himself healthy and have a clear mind. And he’s just not really doing anything, any public appearances," Jimmy Palumbo said, according to SILivecom.
"But I do talk to him. I talked to his mother and his sister. And, you know, he’s just kind of put it all together. So, I’m hopeful that soon, you’re going see Artie Lange again. He’s still got a fastball left. I pray for him. I wish him well."
