I forgot to ask if anyone caught Artie on Letterman on Friday night ? Artie was awesome as always.
I find it really sad that nobody wants to acknowledge his existence anymore
I had no clue he was on, Melissa! And the funny thing is that I was just thinking recently that Artie would probably appear on a talk show or two to promote that radio show he is doing, and I wanted to be sure to not miss it if he did. (I haven't heard the radio show, either, because I don't know where to find it! I don't have DIRECTV, so if that's where it is playing I will miss it.)
And yet...I missed Artie's Letterman appearance anyway!
Okay, that's what YouTube and Hulu are for. I will just browse the Web and find Artie's Letterman segment.
How did Artie look and sound? Did he appear to be 'changed'? He was always very good at acting as though he was fine and sober, and even sounding that way. He was able to hide his addictions behind that "chubby, disheveled, funny guy" exterior pretty well. Other addicts are much more obvious in
showing their problems on their faces, literally. So I never know what to make of Artie when he seems and sounds healthy because he is a master at covering up what's really happening.
As I said in this thread before, I have a strong hunch that Howard's virtual lack of acknowledgment of Artie goes beyond Howard's usual narcissism and disinterest. Let's face it - Howard is a guy that is very self-involved and I don't know if he has a great deal of concern for too many people's lives or problems if they don't directly involve him. Even when Artie was on the show, if Artie was on a roll with a funny story and was stealing too much of the limelight, Howard would change the subject. I don't think his ego could take someone else being more entertaining than he is, even if it was very good for the show.
BUT, in Howard's defense (setting his rampant narcissism and self-involvement aside), I suspect that people in Artie's life - such as Artie's mom, sister, maybe Dana, maybe whoever the current girlfriend is, etc., - ended up making some comments to Howard or possibly laying blame on him in some way, for contributing to Artie's problems. I just have a feeling that maybe the people in Artie's life did not initially blame Howard but then, over time, they may have made remarks that somehow implied Howard knew what was happening with Artie and turned a blind eye, or that the show pushed him over the edge. You know how people are when they are upset and looking for answers - sometimes they will unfairly lash out and cast blame on people.
I am not saying Howard DID turn a blind eye intentionally or that any of Artie's issues were his fault - he is not Artie's parent, and I'm sure he never would have wanted Artie to get to the point he got to...almost dead. But I think that someone, somewhere along the line, may have made Howard
feel guilty for not doing anything to help Artie, or making him feel like he somehow triggered Artie's problems, or whatever....and Howard probably freaked out and has now detached himself from Artie completely because he is so paranoid that he is going to send Artie over the edge.
It is very odd that Howard won't even have Artie on the show to let him promote his new show - or even just to call in and let the fans hear his voice. He implied that he won't have Artie on because it wouldn't be good for Artie's mental state - but I feel like it would probably be cathartic for Artie to at least say something publicly on the show. If he is doing Letterman, he can certainly call into Howard's show. Heck, Artie could call in to The Wrap-Up Show, with Gary and John H, if not the Howard Stern Show itself. He could call into Geek Time, with Ralph and John H. I would be happy with that too!
But Howard won't let Artie call in or appear on any Stern-related shows, I suspect. I doubt we will even hear Artie on Greg Fitzsimmons' show. There is obviously some kind of moratorium on Artie appearances on any of Howard's channels. So that implies that Howard is either very angry and feeling betrayed about something and is just shutting Artie out,
OR it implies that someone got to Howard and blamed him for something about Artie, and Howard now feels like he has to completely stay removed from all things Artie because he doesn't want to contribute to the problem.
That's my hunch!