Artie Lange

Arthur Steven Lange grew up a child of a middle class family in Union, New Jersey. At Union High School, Lange excelled in baseball, becoming an All County third baseman. Working long afternoons with his loving contractor father, Artie developed a comical view of social classes, and his place in life as a barrel-chested Italian boy. After Artie completed high school, his father, who was a cable installer, fell off a roof and became a quadriplegic. Artie changed his college plans to be near his family, taking up odd jobs as a clerk, laborer and cab driver. After his fathers' death four years later, Artie quit his Port of Newark longshoreman's' job to play his first gig at New York's Improv in Hell's Kitchen. Gaining steadying success Artie pursued sketch comedy, helping to create the popular improvisation group, "Live On Tape". Doing improvisation landed Artie his major break. He was cast as an original member of Fox's MADtv (1995) in 1995. Hollywood success would bring down the comic w