Howard Stern

A year in the making,  the History Of Howard Stern Part II did not disappoint. Spanning two weeks and covering everything from the end of the WNBC days to the FCC leveraging fines. The time frame was 1985-1992. Legendary bits featuring the brilliant Billy West, the legendary physical altercation with Elaine Boosler’s manager, Richard Simmons, Pat Cooper, the Zookeeper, Channel 9 (WWOR), US Open Sores, Neglige and Underpants Party and many more topics were examined and new interviews with the people involved were played. One of the highlights of the special, even for a non-fan, is George Carlin’s interview. They got him right before his death and asked him what he thought about the show.

The only coverage that was lackluster was the addressing of Allison, Howard’s now ex-wife. She played a major role on the show, and apparently due to legal issues, she could not be mentioned. (Her name barely even made it out, only being uttered once or twice the entire special).

Overall it was terrific, I hope we see more great programming in the future from the tapes team. I still don’t see why they could not have worked on Master Tape Theater simultaneously though.

Often described as the Howard stern shows funny man, Artie Lange has reportedly checked himself into rehab. The news aired after canceling the Comedy Central Bob Saget roast, and canceling other appearances scheduled for later this week. One of the appearances was for bob Levey’s comedy club in Levittown PA this weekend.

Artie has suffered from heroin addiction in the past and never really dealt with it properly. During the shooting of Beer League, Artie stopped doing heroin cold turkey, and started taking subutex to deal with the addictive cravings. This got Artie off heroin, bit never went through any proper treatment to deal with the addiction.

Upon the return from his Afganistan USO show, he brought up the fact he had been talking to Dana hes ex-girlfriend, but that she wouldn’t think about getting back together with him until he properly dealt with the addiction.

Artie also mentioned another girl in his life lately. And along the same lines he mentioned that Gary had given him some good advice while in Afganistan.
I think Artie finally realized that if he wants a somewhat regular life he needs to treat the addiction before going forward.

Hopefully artie is able to complete the steps necessary to deal with his problem, and get his life in order.

And everyone knows its going to be superb radio when they get back from break.

Ah, reminiscing about the days of old…is something that should be left for old material. This week the gang is on vacation, and in their place we have the “Sirius So Far” special, hosted by Tim Sabien. This special showcases the best moments since the Stern show has been on Sirius Satellite Radio. To call this special a waste of space is an overstatement. All the content played in the special is gold, that’s not the problem. The problem is that as a loyal listener, I’m given the same choices EVERY vacation week. Last vacation they spent a whole week replaying the History Of Howard. Not such a bad idea, as some have not yet heard this special.(It only aired for one other week). But the Sirius So Far special is different. I heard all of these shows the first time they aired. Then I heard them on the replay. A few days later, I turned on Howard TV and saw the same content a third time. At the end of each year, the staff, and fans, picked their favorite moments. So I heard these same clips 4-6 times already. Then they replay these “favorite moments” specials. Now we’re looking at 7-8 times per clip. Following that, Howard TV ran  “penny preview” and “Best Moments of the Year” specials. So before this week’s special, I heard this content 10 or more times!

When the show began at Sirius, one thing Howard was concerned with was “content burnout,” (Playing one bit or segment too many times). So now as I sit here listening to the Richard Christy waxing segment for the 11th time, I wonder what went wrong. They seemed to have quite a programming department a few months ago, but now Tim Sabien is all but dried up. There is NO excuse for not airing a new Master Tape Theater each week, but for the past 2 months, it has been nothing but repeats. There have been no new Mammary Lane segments, those don’t require much effort.

From my correspondance with Tim Sabien and his people, I learned that the tapes team has devoted all energy to the new History Of Howard special. Although that didn’t seem to stop them from making an entry for the Bababooey song parody contest, a project demanding more effort than cueing a tape for Master Tape Theater (especially since the catalog they have a digital catalog).

Tim Sabien needs to clean up his act quickly and get his people in line, or else a large number of fans will eventually call for him to be fired. Best Of The Week is a lazy excuse to get out of Master Tape Theater. Don’t let Tim Sabien get away with this. Call Sirius Employee Directory at 212-584-5100 and ask for Tim Sabien. Tell him you won’t take any more Best of The Week, and that you want Master Tape Theater back on the air with new episodes. Let your voice be heard on the show by dialing 888-9-Asshole when they come back from vacation and telling them the same. As paying subscribers, it’s our right to have the content that was promised to us.
UPDATE: Thanks to Cameltoe for letting me know that you can also email Sirius and let them know you want MTT back using this link.

Lisa Glasberg, the Howard 100 News reporter, and host of numerous cookie-related parties, was apparently caught editing her own wikipedia entry by vigilant Stern fans this evening. Glasberg allegedly posted under the name, “lgsnowflake.” Glasberg removed mentions of her ethnicity, as well as insulting remarks about her face. In one edit she added to her resume, but in her most recent she removed previous jobs from it. It is unknown at this point in time whether or not the show will be on this Monday, or if it will be a vacation week. If the show is live, expect this to be brought up. Someone must get to the bottom of this.

Some more great content on the Howard Stern Show this week. The game shows from the past. These shows bring back some memories, and some are new for me. Today though listening to the Fred Dial-A-Date show was great to listen to, except for the fact the audio was terrible. I’m really surprised ths segment wasn’t cleaned up before airing. They have done such an excellent job of getting this old material, putting it all together, and we have this great bit, but the audio is plain crap. One second your turning up the volume because you can’t hear what the caller is saying, then Howard comes on and and you have to turn the volume back down. Very annoying! I’m sure Richard and Sal could have done a better job cleaning up the audio on this one.

Well, its a repeat week

I really don’t like repeats,  but I do think if anything is worthy of a repeat, it has to be the History Of Howard Stern. I think these specials are produced very well, and are very interesting to listen to. They really pulled a lot of material out of the closet and were able to contact an amazing amount of people to interview.  I think thats one of the best parts. They were actually able to interview people that Howard referenced in the past, or were with him when it happened. Listening to the show from day to day, its hard to tell whats truth and whats fluff, but having some people actually back up the stories is great, and puts things into perspective.  The music is so fitting also, it really makes the whole production fit together.  So I guess I’m kinda glad they are doing this material again, because I missed a lot of it last time.

This is one of those times that I wished I had a photographic memory, or at the very least an above average memory, because it would make my post so much more believable. Regardless, I will attempt to make an observation worthy of discussion.

On the Wrap-Up Show (everyone listens to that as often as I do, right?), at the end when Jason was giving plugs you may have heard him say something along the lines of, “… on the Intern Show, tonight on one-oh-one, er I mean one-hundred-one.”

WUS 11JUN2008 - \”One-oh-one\”

This is where my photographic memory would come in handy because I know that in the past numerous people have said “one-oh-one” in reference to the Howard 101 channel. People that I believe to have had this problem include, but are not limited to, Bubba, Greg Fitzsimmons, John the Stutterer and The Blood Hound Gang guys. I know that various other people on the Wrap-Up show like JD or Will have also been guilty of that.

My point (did it really take me this long to get to my point?) is not to point out the potential hyprocracy of what would appear to be Howard’s request to have the channels referred to as “one-hundred” and “one-hundred-one” but rather to ask if because of this, Howard now understands why it is that NBC was so hung up on saying “w-EN-bc” in reference to their channel.

To me, even with the NBC situation, it’s always a matter of branding and name recognition. This is also of course under the assumption that Howard is the one who wants it to be “one-hundred-one”. I don’t think that’s a huge assumption because I think I remember Howard telling a guest that the channel was to be referred to as, “one-hundred-one”.

One would assume he’s trying to create the brand of “one-hundred” and “one-hundred-one”. I see nothing wrong with this but just am curious if he still is willing to rip on w-EN-bc the way he used to. I know when he does his talk-ups he jokingly over-pronounces it but I cannot remember a recent time when WNBC has come up that he has ripped on the management for coaching him to say it correctly.

Perhaps Howard has changed. He’s often ripped by this RS community for selling-out and being out-of-touch with who he used to be. Maybe it’s just that he is (and has been) seeing things in a different light. He’s no longer working under a hierarchy of people - well he is, but most likely has significantly more pull than he did in his FM day. He is, more or less, the one in charge of his stations and wants things done his way. Am I over-analyzing this or is it just another possible addition to the seemingly ever-growing list of “Ways That Howard Has Changed”?

Wow, the nerve of Bob Levy on the Miserable Men Show. On one of Howards shows he has the balls to say “Fuck Gary”, and then to not even give proper apology about it the next day. They give the guy so much. Like Howard was saying, free plugs, shows, roasts, and more, and he gets pissed off. Damn. I had to agree with Howard today, just like a kid that gets everything they want, and when they don’t get something they throw a fit. He could have at least given a decent apology. If it weren’t for Artie, I think they would have taken him and his plugs off for a week. Better watch your P’s and Q’s Bob! You know those plugs everyday bring in some CASH.

Isn’t it funny that the late Frank Snotra (Billy West reference) is more well respected in this country than Howard. I mean, Howard gives money to charity all the time, helps people out, and provides constant entertainment for millions. Frank Sinatra, though I love some of his music, sung for the mafia and had mob ties himself. Yet no one is disgusted by this. Same thing with Johnny Carson, the guy BEAT his WIFE! If you took a poll on the street, asking which of the three was the best human being, I bet Howard would be dead last.

From Newsday.com -
By Adam Abramson

“Howard Stern Show fixture Artie Lange walked out of the studio after an argument and subsequent outburst at his personal assistant on the air.

Lange, who became a part of the show’s daily routine in October of 2001, was spotted disputing with his assistant in the hallways off the air. When it was brought up to Stern, he asked the assistant Teddy to come into the studio and discuss the situation on the air.

Lange began to express his disdain for his assistant of nearly two years because of recent money issues. Teddy retorted by implying there’s more to the job than meets the eye.

The two are slated to travel to Amsterdam this evening and the squabble began over setting up Lange’s travel accommodations. However, the in-studio dispute quickly escalated into a discussion about how much Lange finances Teddy, who is affectionately called “Teddy Microphone” around the studio.As the argument continued, Lange became enraged and physically lashed out at Teddy, but the physical confrontation was apparently defused by other members in the studio.

When Lange returned, he said Teddy would be “dead” had he reached him and he would be in jail.

Stern then expressed his feelings on the situation, saying he cannot condone Lange’s actions. The comedian, who has had a similar outburst on the air in the past, said he cannot guarantee he can refrain from acting out in the future. Upon hearing that, Stern said he cannot have Lange around with the potential of such actions looming.

Artie then offered his resignation; Stern accepted, but told Lange to leave and cool off. Just before Lange left he told Stern: “I’m not a good person … I gotta leave … I love you”

Teddy returned to the studio several minutes later and said there was overreacting from everyone, but did not downplay the seriousness of the situation.

Show producer Gary Dell’Abate came in to analyze the situation, but he and Stern admitted they “did not know what to make of it all.”

Stern does not host a live show on Fridays and the crew is on vacation next week.”

“Artie Lange” was the number one search term according to Google Trends since the incident occurred. “Stern Fan Network” has been number two all day. At the time of this article, they still are.

The show started off great today, lost of laughter, Artie in a good mood, a dance competition. Halfway through the show the laughter died. The entire crew was shell-shocked. The last time I heard them even close to this was 9/11.

MarksFriggin.com gave a rundown of the occurrence:

”

• Artie Attacks Teddy, Resigns From Show, Walks Out. 04/10/08. 8:00am
  After the break Howard came back and said that there are rumors that Ryan Seacrest might be replacing Regis Philbin. Howard said that would be awful. He said there has to be someone else out there that’s available to do that job.Howard heard that Artie was yelling at Teddy out in the hall. Artie said that they’re going on this trip today and Teddy needs his passport. He said that he needed to write down some information for this Amsterdam trip and the USO trip. He said that he handed him the Passport and sent off the information. He figured that he’d keep that information on him so he can use it when he needs it. Howard said that’s what he would do if he were his assistant. He’d make photocopies of it so he never had to ask him for it again.Artie said that Artie also keeps his credit card number so he can use that. He said that he keeps that on record but Teddy didn’t keep the passport info. Teddy came in and tried to defend himself. Artie said that he said he was going to book him into his flight today but he needed his passport info again.Artie ended up yelling at Teddy for not listening. He wanted to finish what he was saying and then he’d let him talk. Artie said he told teddy that he should have kept that passport information on him and he shouldn’t keep asking him for it. He said that Teddy shot back at him with a snotty comment and argued with him instead of just doing what he asked him to do.

  Artie said that Teddy was acting like a faggot around him and he thinks that he hired a fag. Artie said that he sent him out to Bloomingdale’s to buy him something and he came back and told him that he had gone to ”Bloomies” and that pissed him off too.

  Gary said that Teddy copied Artie’s passport and he left it in the copy machine. Someone else at the company found it and didn’t know where it came from. Gary said that Teddy is always shooting comments back at Artie and arguing with Artie so that pisses him off even more.

  Teddy said that he went online to see if he could check Artie into his flight today and found out that he could do it. He asked Artie for the passport and he went ballistic on him. Teddy said he’s got a lot of stuff going on at work and he forgets stuff once in a while.

  Howard said that when Artie first hired Teddy he hired him to just get him coffee and stuff. Now things are getting more complicated and he’s getting overwhelmed. Teddy said that he had to go after that. Howard told him not to go anywhere.

  Artie said that teddy has major money problems and he has to keep him employed. Artie said that he keeps threatening to quit but he can’t because he needs the money. He said that he’s loaned him thousands of dollars on top of his salary and he knows he’ll never see that back. He said that he’s always asking for a raise and stuff like that too.

  Artie asked Teddy when he’s going to get his $5,000 back that he loaned him. Howard told Teddy that if he was him he wouldn’t pay him back. He’s not going to do anything about it. Howard asked Teddy why he’s going to Amsterdam if he has all of these money problems. He said that he got a lot of frequent flyer miles so he used them for this trip.

  Artie said that he pays Teddy about $45,000 a year. Teddy said that he makes $24,000. Teddy wasn’t counting the two bonuses that he was getting. That’s pretty good for a part time assistant. Howard said that it sounds like he might be a little overwhelmed. Teddy said that he is doing a full time job in part time hours so that’s where the problem comes in. He said that Artie hates him and it seems like he wants him to quit.

  Artie said that he tells Teddy to go ahead and quit but he won’t. He keeps coming back. He said that he’s a deadbeat and he’s tired of that. He said that there’s someone else there that has borrowed $7,500 from him there at the company too and that person probably won’t pay him back.

  Teddy said that he can’t wait to see anyone else come in and try to do his job. Artie said that no one else would complain like Teddy does. He went off on Teddy about all of this stuff but Howard wanted to talk to him about what he was doing there.

  Artie got up and went after Teddy so they were all yelling at him to stop and for Teddy to get the hell out of there. Artie attacked Teddy and everyone was freaking out trying to put a stop to it. Robin asked what the hell was going on there. Howard said that Artie needs to go home and rest. He said that wasn’t cool with him.

  Robin said that he’s pissed at Teddy and he wondered why they were bringing this up. Howard said he was curious about what was going on and it seems that he’s a little out of control over the whole thing. He said he’s go to go work this out and he’s not sure what he’s going to do about it. He said that he just went berserk.

  Artie came back in and said that he knows that he’s in a fighting mood. Howard said that he doesn’t know that this is real. Artie said that he feels like Teddy is stealing his money. Howard told him he was out of control. He said he figured he must like Teddy on some level and had no idea that he was going to fight him. Artie said that it was Howard who brought that out in him.

  Artie said that he thinks that Howard prodded it out of him and that’s what he got out of him. Howard asked why he would hire a guy who he thinks was ripping him off. Artie said that he’s afraid to fire him because he’d have nothing if he did that. Howard said that this was worse than just letting him go.

  Artie blamed Howard for bringing this to where it went. He said that he kept pushing him and pushing him and that’s what happened. Howard said he didn’t know that Artie was going to go crazy and explode. Artie asked why he would bring him back to that type of situation like he and Sal had. Howard said that he really had no idea he was going to attack another human being. Howard said that wasn’t fair to Teddy and he can blame him for it if he wants but he’s not to blame.

  Howard said that he can’t have Artie around there if he’s not in control. Howard said that he didn’t want that from him and he really didn’t know he was going to be out of control. Artie said that he can’t do his job and he can’t guarantee him that he won’t do that again. Artie said that he’s an out of control person and he can’t do that anymore. He said he loves Howard but he has to resign. He said that he can’t guarantee that he won’t do that again.

  Howard accepted Artie’s resignation but he continued to talk to him about what had just gone down. Artie said that he would never bother Howard with this nonsense with Teddy. He said that he wouldn’t even bring it up on the air. He said that he’ll probably get sued now over that. Artie said that he’s not a good person and he really has to leave. He told Howard he loves him but he’s really got to leave.

  Howard told Artie to just go into the green room and they’ll talk later. He said that he wasn’t looking for that kind of fight. He said that he didn’t know it was going to escalate to that. He said that he likes airing dirty laundry but doesn’t want to push people to that.

  Howard said that he can’t have Artie in there if he’s going to put other people in danger. He said it was depressing. Benjy asked if he was still going to use his ticket to Amsterdam. Howard didn’t want him joking about that. He said this was really serious.

  Howard said he was speechless. Robin said that it wasn’t fun or funny. She said that it’s just not right when someone does something like that. Howard said that he thought that Artie had some kind of affection for Teddy but he seems to really dislike him today. He said that he had no clue that they were going to go that far.

  Howard thought that they were really bros and they got along with each other. He really did. Robin said that she believes that they might but Artie is the kind of guy where words run out and he has to act out physically. Howard said that he’s had people working for him that he doesn’t want working for him but he’s never threatened to attack or wanted to attack anyone. Robin said that was the only way he had to express his anger.

  Dominic Barbara called in and said that it probably wasn’t about Teddy at all. He said that it sounded like someone could have gotten killed when he heard it. Howard said that it did get out of hand and someone could have gotten killed. Robin said that it was the people that got between them that could have gotten hurt too. Dominic said that this is part of his illness and he really has to get some help. He said he’s really depressed after that. Howard said he was too. He said that he’s sure it was for Teddy and Artie too.

  Robin said that she knows that Artie is going to feel like crap after this and he’ll be beating himself up after this. She said that he’s going to be miserable. Benjy said that Artie might be in a suicidal mood and they may want to keep someone around him. Howard said that Teddy is supposed to be with Artie right now. That’s not going to work.

  Benjy was afraid that Artie was going to be in a rage where he might hurt himself. Howard suggested that maybe her mother go over and help him out.

  Ralph called in and said that he has to leave for the dentist in a few minutes. He said that he thinks that Benjy might be right and someone might want to keep an eye on Artie. He said that he’s put Teddy in a position that he shouldn’t be in and this is just crazy. He said that you want to cry for Artie.

  Howard said that they argue there all the time but they usually keep it under control. He said that he didn’t mean anything other than to find out what was going on with Artie and Teddy. Ralph said that he was just asking a couple of questions and the two of them got out of hand.

  Robin said that Artie is acting like a boss and Teddy is acting like his buddy with the comments he makes and that drives Artie nuts. Ralph said that Artie’s got all kinds of problems with his house down at the shore too so he’s got a lot on his plate right now. Howard let Ralph go after he said he was really bummed out.

  Howard took a call from a guy who said he can’t believe what just happened. He said that Artie seems to be turning into a real asshole. Howard said that he’s really a great guy and he’s not going to bad mouth him.

  Howard said that they are really in a weird position at this point. He took another call from a guy who said that he must have seen this coming and he’s doing his job really well. Howard said that he had no idea that it was going to come to this.

• Artie Attack Aftermath. 04/10/08. 8:30am
  Teddy came back in and said that he didn’t want to come in there earlier and he saw it coming. He said he had a dream that something like this was going to happen. He said that Artie doesn’t mean it and he’s really a good guy. He said that he’s not stealing a penny from the guy and this really sucks.Howard said he really thought that Teddy and Artie were good together and didn’t know that they had these problems. He said that he thought it was going to be kind of cool and they’d work things out. Howard said that if they were really unhappy that they’d just break things up. Teddy said that things are going to be very awkward there. He said that he never should have come in there. He said that he didn’t think that Artie should leave, he should have left. Howard said that’s not true.Teddy said that they’ve never fought before, they just argue a lot. Howard thought it was just a playful thing that they did. Teddy wanted to forget it all and just move on. He said that he can’t believe what happened. He said that he must really hate him and maybe this was for the best. He said he’s going to attempt to go back to work.Howard said that he’s sorry that this all happened. Teddy said he hopes that he and Artie can kiss and make up in Amsterdam. He said that they’ll see what happens today. He said that he’s not flying out with him and he won’t be in the same hotel. He said he’s hoping that this doesn’t keep him from going.

  Teddy said he feels responsible but Howard told him he’s really not. He said he doesn’t feel responsible either. He said he was kind of enjoying them working things out but then there were the accusations and it blew up out of control.

  Howard didn’t like Artie blaming him for making him do it either. He said that he and Gary have blown up at each other before but they’ve never gotten this out of control. Teddy said that he couldn’t believe that Artie was coming after him the way he did and he got scared when he saw that 17 people were holding him back.

  Howard told Teddy that he may want to be around Artie on this Amsterdam trip. He said that it might not be the best thing. He said that he’s not going to do anything with Artie and he’s not going to go after him for money or sue him or anything like that. Howard said it might be best for him to part ways from Artie.

  Howard said he had no clue why this happened. Teddy said that Artie didn’t hit him but he did throw a cup of water at him.

  Gary came in and said that he’s not sure what they should do about this. He said that they managed to talk Artie down in the green room but he was afraid while he was talking to him. He said that they don’t know how he’s going to react to other people who might say the wrong thing to him. He said that he feels weird about Artie blaming it on them for what he does.

  Gary said that Artie has just gotten rid of a bunch of things that he’s tired of. He basically quit his job, fired teddy and said that he wasn’t going to Amsterdam. He said that he’s not sure what they’re going to do next. He asked Howard what he’s going to do if Artie calls him tonight. Howard said that he’s not sure what to do now. He said he’s still speechless and he’s not sure what to make of it.

  Howard said that it might be up to Tim to make that final decision. Teddy said he doesn’t want Artie to leave the show and he hopes that he never gets mad at anyone that much again. He said that if it’s because of him he’d be happy to lave the show. He said he feels really bad about this and hopes that Artie won’t hate him when he sees him again. Howard told Teddy that he handled it well.

  Gary said that Jason Reitman had walked in when Artie was leaving and got all freaked out when Artie just stormed by him.

  Howard took a call from a guy who said that maybe this is the way the day is going to go. He said that it sounds like Benjy is really worried about him and he hopes that they can get him some help. The guy said that one of them might want to go keep an eye on Artie to make sure he’s okay. Howard said that he would love to help the guy out because he really does adore the guy. He said that he’d like to have someone follow him and keep and eye on him.”

The replay of today’s show was canceled. Howard said he needed to analyze the situation. Mark’s Friggin also updated readers on the status of the replay:

- The Missing Artie Replay –

• Updates About Today’s Missing Replay.
  • UPDATE 1: For those of you tuning in to hear today’s replay on Howard 100… well, they’re playing the wrong friggin day. As of about 12:15 they’re replaying the April 7th show. They have this awesome show to replay and they play Monday’s show? Nice. I don’t know if this is a screw up or if Howard decided not to replay the show in which Artie seems to self destruct.
  • UPDATE 2: I heard from one fan who says that SIRIUS customer support is telling people that ”The programmers” have decided not to replay that show. It would appear that it’s intentional and not just a screw up. This show may never air again. How friggin lame.
  • UPDATE 3: Now I’m getting reports that Bubba the Love Sponge announced that it was Howard’s decision to pull the show and not run the replay. The show will not be replayed today or this weekend.
  • UPDATE 4: On tonight’s Superfan Roundtable Steve Langford reported that Artie and Teddy did board their flight to Amsterdam. Artie is in 1st class, Teddy in Economy. Steve said that he was told that they did lock eyes for a moment but didn’t exchange any words.

Howard 100 News updated fans on what happened after Artie left, even though only to a small extent.

Link to H100 News Report