Stern Fans

OctoberBrideNYC

DH just sent me this - it's a recap . . .

SHOCK jock Howard Stern </news/p/stern_howard/stern_howard.htm>  was
finally left speechless yesterday after a brawl erupted inside his
Sirius Satellite studio between his hard-partying sidekick Artie Lange
and Lange's assistant, Teddy, which ended with Lange's quitting the
show.
The bickering started off air in the morning, in the hallway adjacent to
Stern's studio. Show staffers overheard Lange screaming at Teddy because
Teddy asked him for his passport for the fourth time as he planned their
flight to Amsterdam, which was set to take off last night. Lange told
Teddy he should have photocopied the passport the first time.
Stern was told they had been bickering and brought it up on air. When
Teddy came in to defend himself, Lange snapped.
"He's a loser," yelled Lange. "He's the most unorganized assistant. I
want to fire him, but he has no money. I hope he dies of AIDS."
Lange, who pays Teddy $24,000 a year for part-time work, then accused
Teddy of embarrassing him in front of friends last week in LA when he
called Bloomingdale's department store by its nickname, Bloomie's, and
announced the store didn't have something in Lange's size.
"I think I hired a fag," said Lange. "I wanted to throw him out the
window."
Lange then threw a cup of water at Teddy and lunged at him, throwing a
punch that didn't land. Show writer Benjy Bronk jumped on Lange and held
him back, while Ronnie "The Limo Driver" Mund burst in to get Teddy out
of the studio.
Lange blamed Stern for the fight, saying that Stern "pushed" him to the
breaking point and that he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't snap again in
the future. He then told Stern he loved him and resigned.
"Don't ever mention Bloomie's around the guy," Stern sighed.
One show insider says that the staff loves Lange and is "extremely
upset" but that it's out of Stern's hands and that Sirius management
will soon decide Lange's fate. The show is on a break next week.
Both Lange and Teddy failed to return calls for comment. Lange was last
spotted by a fan at the Brooklyn Diner on West 57th, drowning his
sorrows in a plate of food.

jess98ac

Wow!!

I can't listen anymore, either,  because of the satellite.  That's just nuts!!

swrbcarpediem

My DH heard the whole fight (he hearts the show very much) and said it was REALLY awful.

I know it isn't being reaired b/c Stern is trying to make it so he doesn't look like he did it for entertainment? But the fight was apparently out in the hall and pretty tame (yelling, but not throwing things...so tame compared to what happened) and someone came into the studio and told Howard there was a fight brewing about the Amsterdam trip.

Teddy had been given the passport about a month ago to book and confirm travel plans, so he asked for it yesterday to confirm the plans the day before travel.

Stern kept saying to him that Artie needed to calm down and he couldn't behave like this in the office? And Artie basically exploded at that...he thinks Teddy is a moron and has asked for him to be removed from his assignment as his assistant for a while. So, who knows what will happen.

It's been bad for Artie as far as his self-esteem and "wallowing" behavior the last few months. Somehow I feel the self destructive behavior and this are linked...

OctoberBrideNYC

I heard it too.  It was really upsetting, actually.  Artie had to be held back by about 8 people.  I don't see how they can keep him on the show (which is sad to me - I'm a HUGE stern fan - been listening for about 15 years!)  - Artie is really spiralling down the tubes.  They are off next week, so it's going to be interesting how it shakes out over their break.

BinkER

My first inclination is to think that there is very little, if anything, on that show that isn't a well-planned entertainment bit. It all seems off the cuff, but there's writing and organization behind it all. So I figure that at least some of this was premeditated. That being said, Artie seems like a legitmimately loose cannon. I mean, just look at all the sick days he takes. That can't be a bit, can it? The guy really has issues. So what does this mean in terms of this incident? Maybe Howard knows Artie wants to leave the show, so he planned this big dramatic exit for him. Or--and I know I can be a conspiracy theorist at times, but--I just don't think it's a coincidence that this all went down right before the show goes on vacation for a week. It's happened before that they've unleashed some drama right before vacation just so people will have something to talk about and a reason to come back after the absence. But who knows. It's all good radio.

OctoberBrideNYC

No way - this was not scripted.  Especially since they can be sued for the whole thing by Teddy if he wanted to pursue it.  I don't know - as a longtime listener - I would believe almost anything - so I may not be the best judge.  Artie sounds like he's really down in the dumps. 

BinkER

Artie could have been sued for attacking/throwing things at other members of the show, too, but he hasn't been...and my guess as to why is because it's all part of the show. It's a bit. Or at least it began as a bit and, if it got out of hand, it becomes the show's liability more than Artie's since it's the show (esp. Howard) that keeps goading Artie on. Which could be part of why they didn't re-air the show...or that could just be to heighten the suspense. There was something awhile back that they also didn't re-air...was it the time Artie blew up at Sal and Richard? Yesterday's incident is definitely part of a trend--it's just a matter of whether Artie is truly out of control and wants out of the show or if it's being played up for radio...or both.