Artie Lange, 51, from HBO’s Crashing and The Howard Stern Show, was recently arrested again for violating the terms of his probation. Radar Online reports that the comedian was transferred to the Essex County Correctional Facility at approximately 7:45 Tuesday morning. In his shocking mugshot, his nose appears to now be completely flat.
Essex County Sheriff’s Office
How Did It Get This Bad?
The start of Artie’s most recent decline began in May 2017 when he was pulled over on the Garden State Parkway near Bloomfield and arrested for possession of 81 decks of heroin. He was sentenced to four years of probation in June 2017.
In July 2017, Artie Lange collapsed on stage and had emergency heart surgery to save his life. He tweeted that his heroin abuse had made a “hole in his nose” and “landed in his chest”. It was at this time he vowed to get sober and start turning his life around. This may have been the start of his nose issues although no photos were posted at the time.
After Chicago gig I collapsed. I had emergency surgery. All the blow & H I’ve done for yrs blew hole in my nose & landed in my chest…
Unfortunately, the sobriety was short lived. The slow deterioration of Artie Lange’s nose started to appear in December 2017 when photos emerged of his nose looking swollen and getting steadily larger.
What the hell is going on with Artie Lange‘s nose?
In December 2018, Lange posted on Twitter that 3 decades of cocaine and heroin abuse had finally caught up to him. He also said that he had accidentally snorted glass one night while crushing up what he thought was Oxycontin which did irreparable damage to the septum in his nose. It was at this time that his nose started to appear deflated.
This is it but I believe her nose had a septum and had not been hideously deformed due to over 3 decades of drug abuse.
Later in December 2018, Artie tested positive for cocaine during an appearance in state Superior Court in Newark for a probation violation. After trying to enter drug court in order to avoid a jail sentence, the judge in the case asked him to take a drug test, a standard procedure in cases like this.
Lange tested positive for cocaine, amphetamine, benzodiazepines, and Suboxone. He had prescriptions for all the drugs in his system except the cocaine. Despite telling the court he “wouldn’t be arrogant enough to come in here after using cocaine for two days.” His drug test told a different story. Lange’s nose was looking even worse than before and appeared to have flattened even more.
In addition to the long-term drug abuse, Artie was involved in an altercation in January 2019 where he was punched repeatedly in the face by his 19-year-old bookie. Artie Lange told the story on the podcast “Are We Still Talking About This?”. Apparently, he owed the bookie over $62K who tried to kidnap the troubled comedian and beat him until realizing Artie didn’t have any money. “I owed a bookie 62 grand, and a kid who worked for a bookie…he thought I was a billionaire because he saw me on TV and he kidnapped me,” said Lange. That led to this mugshot where his nose is swollen, flat, and bloodied from the assault.
This most recent dust-up with the law comes after Lange appeared to be doing better. Aside from his nose, he looked healthier and sober in his photos and had been complying with the terms of his probation by working as a garbage man and at a local gas station in New Jersey. Several fans saw him out working and he was happy to talk to them. Artie was optimistic about getting back on stage to perform very soon. During his recent arrest, a law enforcement officer told Page Six that Lange was “coherent and cooperative” during the arrest. It’s unclear how he violated his probation.
🙂!!! Just spoke to one of my greatest friends, Artie Lange, who’s doin’ great in recovery and asked me to share this vid of him “on the job” !!
He looks great and will be back soon. Stay tuned and keep rootin’ for a truly great human being…we love ya, Art
Artie Was in the Midst of a Comeback Before His Recent Legal Troubles
Before his string of arrests, Artie was performing around the country and had a brief stint on The Anthony Cumia Show on the Compound Media network. Artie was a co-host to former Opie & Anthony radio host Anthony Cumia and stayed on the show for less than a year before being terminated for not showing up to work.
There were several instances on the show where Lange appeared to be struggling as he would nod off regularly during segments. Anthony Cumia explained what happened between him and Lange on his recent episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast:
It has not been disclosed how Artie Lange violated his probation for his most recent arrest or if the comedian will see any jail time. It’s also unclear if Lange plans to get plastic surgery to reconstruct his nose or if such an operation is even possible with the damage that’s been done.