artie lange

Well, this is...interesting.

Howard Stern continues his TV talk show tour to promote his Sirius radio show, and last week appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but not in the same studio as Kimmel. At first it looks like Stern is sitting down in the chair next to Kimmel's desk, but you quickly realized that Stern is in New York City (Kimmel tapes in L.A.) and is sitting in front of a green screen to make it look like he's with Kimmel. You also figure out what's going on once you see Stern and Kimmel attempt to kiss and they can't quite line up their, um, tongues.

Stern also gives Kimmel a free Sirius Stiletto radio. He did the same thing on Letterman last week. I wonder if Dave and Paul feel cheap now? Video after the jump! (Note: the video also includes a 90 year-old woman having an orgasm.)

On the Howard Stern show today, Artie Lange announced that he signed a development deal with FOX. It's like the usual development deals you hear about; Artie will get paid a lot of money to either help develop sitcoms that he will star in, or make himself available to act in someone else's project if FOX thinks he's a good fit for it. Like he mentioned on the air, it's one of the sweetest gigs in show business.

For now, he'll still be doing Howard's show, because there is not sitcom vehicle imminent; but if a project does come along in ten months or so, he'll have to leave.

On the Howard Stern show today, Artie Lange was talking about his buddy Norm MacDonald, who was supposed to be on the show this morning, but bailed (he was on Letterman last night, though). Lange mentioned a few items that were interesting: Firstly, he thought a specific "Weekend Update" joke about O.J. Simpson -- after O.J. was found not guilty, Norm said something along the lines of "Murder is now legal in Southern California." -- is what got him fired from SNL. Then-NBC exec Don Ohlmeyer was friends with Simpson, and rumors had always floated around that he was always pissed at Norm's O.J. jokes (even though Leno was doing plenty at the time, too). This is the first time, though, that I've heard that a specific joke got him fired.

The second item Artie let slip was that Norm loved doing "WU" so much, that he'd love to just do fake news until he retires. Because of this, Norm may be looking to do a show like that. Not a bad idea; I always liked him on "WU", even if his weridness didn't go over well with the audience, I always admired his "I don't give a shit what people think" attitude. Would you watch Norm do a fake news show? Let me know in the comments.

On yesterday's Howard Stern show, Artie Lange revealed that he'll be filming an episode of Entourage this week; there are very little details about the part he's going to play, aside the fact that his character is supposed to make out with a character played by Leslie Bibb. Jeez, talk about an odd couple... the tall, blonde, lovely Bibb making out with 275-pound Lange. I think Artie's great, but even I can't make that pairing work.

Anyway, it looks like Artie's fame is growing, despite the fact that Howard's show isn't on terrestrial radio anymore. My guess is that Artie can now let go on Sirius; his sense of humor and timing are really shining on satellite, and people are noticing. Also, Lange wrote and starred in a new independent comedy, Beer League, which will be out in September. It's getting good reviews at film festivals, so that may also be upping Artie's profile. Either way, good for him. He's one of the good guys in the business.

George Takei is a busy guy. Believe it or not, of all the interviews I've done, his had the most regimented procedure: I was supposed to call him and immediately begin the interview, because he had other interviews scheduled around mine.

Apparently, his itinerary has been a bit crowded lately. And for that, Takei -- best known for playing Mr. Sulu on the classic series Star Trek -- can thank the combination of his public coming out late last year and his addition to Howard Stern's Sirius satellite show as its announcer. In fact, the 69-year-old actor's voice was the first one that people heard when Howard first debuted in January. He spent the entire first week there telling graphic stories about his first sexual encounters, cutting goofy IDs, and trading wise-ass remarks with sidekick Artie Lange. He also got pranked not once, not twice, but three times by the crew: once with a David Letterman impersonator and twice with an Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator. As always, though, he was a good sport, giving the audience his trademark halting laugh whenever he got scammed.

Since the Governator vetoed the state's same-sex marriage bill, Takei has spoken out passionately for gay rights. He is currently on a speaking tour for the Human Rights Campaign he has dubbed an "Equality Trek". So between that, his appearances at Trek conventions, and his negotiations to return to the Stern show, it's a wonder he has time to talk to any reporters at all.

In our conversation (after the jump), George and I talked about the speaking tour, Howard, his guest turn on Will & Grace, and his appearance as Sulu on a web-only Star Trek series. Oh, and I couldn't leave without asking him about Bill Shatner at least once.

Because Takei needs to be heard as much as he needs to be read (I mean... that laugh!), I've made the audio version of the interview available for download. It's available here.