Artie Lange, Heroin-Free for Over Two Years

Count one more loss for team drugs. Comedian Artie Lange made no secret of his drug and alcohol use, and his fierce unwillingness to give up the habits, during his time on Howard Stern's radio show. But his 2010 suicide attempt and subsequent eight-month stay in a psychiatric ward seem to have scared him straight, and Lange reveals that he's now been heroin-free for over two years. "I feel great, man," says the comic. "I feel like I'm 17 again. I've never thought clearer. You know, when I was on heroin, everybody told me that if I got off it, every day I got away from it makes you better. And eventually, I felt like a kid again, and more creative and more productive than ever. I've never felt better." Lange said he also spoke to Stern in person last month and apologized to him for lying about being a heroin addict. Stern accepted the apology. In addition to headlining at stand-up comedy clubs, Lange has recently made guest appearances on the late-night shows of David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon, while also launching a sports radio show with fellow comedian Nick Di Paolo. He's also gearing up to release his second memoir, Crash and Burn, in November, which will detail the worst of his drug use before he finally got clean. "I'll talk about those last couple of weeks on The Howard Stern Show, and how awful it was for me, and that last day, when I basically was on the air, blacking out," he says. "It'll bring back crazy stories from the past...that will help people realize how nuts I was. It's going to talk about how someone who was just near death, and wanted to die, came back to live."