Artie Lange’s 4th book in rehab, his special word with his dad

After all he's been through, Artie Lange knows he's a very lucky man.

Lange, in the New Jersey 101.5 studio, told me: "I shouldn't be around. I went through a lot of craziness."

Artie Lange has written a fourth book in jail, rough draft that he'll eventually get published called "Ripping and Running: Life On Drug Court." In it, Lange tells stories he's never told before, proving that, "I should not be here." Artie told two chilling stories about his parents.

Judy Lange is a wonderful and very funny woman, who has stood by her son all through his battle with addiction. She's also very insightful and happy to see her son Artie like he is now.

"My mother didn't get very far in school but she's an insanely intelligent woman," Lange said. "She says deep stuff and the first time she came to visit me in rehab after I was in county jail for two months and a crazy halfway house for three months. And when she first comes to visit me in this last rehab the first thing she says to me is, 'I haven't seen you in so long.' And I said, ma I just saw you a month ago, you came to visit me. And she said, 'no I haven't seen this you in 30 years.' That hit me hard."

Artie lost his Dad in 1990 from complications of an infection. It's hit the comedian hard to this day. His father was a big fan of the escape artist Houdini who wanted to debunk psychics and made a pact with his wife as he was dying that they would have a secret word to see if they were real. For all the psychics she visited, no one ever told her the word.

Like Houdini, Artie and his dying dad had a word. The word was Otis, for the elevator company his grandfather worked at. In the last 30 years since he lost his father Artie had seen the word but not like this. Artie said:

"This last time I come out of jail and I go into rehab 5 months clean and I feel like I'm getting this and I meet a guy at the rehab who had just got out of prison. He said Artie, "I knew your Dad and he hated drugs he was a crazy guy and he hated drugs. He would hate that you had become a drug addict but he would love that you were getting better."

Artie said the guy was crying as he told Artie "I love seeing you, it's almost like I'm talking to you for your Dad and he hugged me saying he would love that your getting better, please do this for your Dad" So Artie gets to know the guy and asks him what prison he was in and the guy said "Otisville."

Lange was taken aback became visibly upset and told the guy the that story and he started to cry, saying, "That is the single most spiritual thing, not just Otis but Otisville! If that's not my Dad."

Lange goes on to say, "I went to do my first standup on the road and I was nervous going back into it. I pull into the Tropicana and what's the first thing I see Otis Elevator truck. I took a picture and sent it to my mother."

You can get tickets for Artie's tour here.

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