Patrice O'Neal: A new album and a marathon of memories [Audio]

This post has been corrected, as indicated below. Patrice O'Neal

No one could imitate Patrice O'Neal, Gregg "Opie" Hughes of "The Opie & Anthony Show" said ahead of a marathon satellite-radio weekend memorial for the late stand-up comic. Fortunately for fans, O'Neal himself was set to release new material, the sale of which will benefit the mother, sister, wife and child who survive him.

"Patrice was working on a CD, getting ready to release, everything was complete," the Sirius XM host said Friday. "This is something he wanted out there."

Veteran New York-based comic O'Neal, who suffered a stroke on Oct. 19, died Tuesday. He was 41.

The show was the first to play "Hate People Touching Me," a new O'Neal clip, which will air throughout the weekend as part of a marathon tribute broadcast by Opie, Anthony and Jim Norton, and other comedy folks, as they celebrate O'Neal's life and work on the Opie & Anthony Channel, XM 105/Sirius 206.

The upcoming album "Mr. P," unlike other posthumous releases that might be cobbled together from partially complete work, "is Patrice's CD that he was proud of," Opie said, talking about the album in the wake of the Thursday visit from O'Neal manager Jonathan Brandstein. Recorded in April at the Improv in Washington, D.C., the album has a February release date, according to LaughSpin.

"The family gets the money and trust me, without getting into it," he said, "they need the money." Anyone who wants to help can "simply ... order the CD."

Opie predicted O'Neal would be a "massive star" posthumously, saying it was too bad he didn't get to that next level of fame before he died.

Artie Lange: Return to Howard Stern's show would be 'the greatest,' but it's an 'awkward situation'

This post has been corrected. Please see the note below for details.

Artie Lange says returning to "The Howard Stern Show" would be "the greatest thing ever," but he also acknowledges the difficulty of the situation.

"Listen, I was on the greatest show of all time for about nine years, and I put them in a very awkward situation, to say the least," he told a caller this week during an appearance on Fox Sports Radio with fill-in host Nick Di Paolo, who like Lange is a stand-up comic. "So what am I gonna do?"

Lange hasn't been on the Stern show since December 2009, before a January 2010 suicide attempt in which he stabbed himself repeatedly with a knife. His mother found him bloody in his Hoboken, N.J., apartment and called 911 in time to save his life.

Stern told Rolling Stone earlier this year that Lange had offered to come on the show to explain what happened, but the talk-show star seemed reluctant to accept the offer.

"I don't even feel strong enough within myself or that I'd be doing the right thing by him, because I don't want to do the wrong thing for Artie," Stern said, adding, "I just want Artie to stay alive."

Lange returned to the stand-up stage last September with a performance in New York.

"I love them all, and they were great to me," Lange said Wednesday about the Stern team. "I appreciate that."

For the record, 9 a.m. July 15: This post originally misspelled comic Nick Di Paolo's last name as DiPaulo. Thanks to commenter Dan Heckel for flagging the error. A link to Di Paolo's website, which has audio of the full three-hour interview, also has been added.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla
Twitter.com/dzurillaville

Photo: Archive image of Artie Lange.

Charlie Sheen approves of Rob Lowe -- what a relief *that* must be

Charlie Sheen has given Rob Lowe his blessing to replace him on "Two and a Half Men" and apologized to John Stamos for being rude to him as a potential contender -- offering up advice to the two actors if they were to fill the shoes of Charlie Bender.

"I think they're both fabulous. And my apologies to John, I was rude to him earlier. That was unnecessary. And Rob's an old friend and a brilliant actor and a beautiful man," he told Dan Patrick on Wednesday.

Rumors had been running amok about possible replacements, and Stamos, who reappeared on Tuesday's episode of "Glee," even took to Twitter to put the kibosh on his possible casting.

"contrary to the rumors, i am not replacing charlie sheen on two and half men. however, martin sheen has asked me to be his son," the "Full House" actor tweeted. 

As for Lowe, he's reportedly in serious talks with Warner Bros. to join the "Men" cast, despite ties to NBC's "Parks and Recreation" and Showtime's "Californication."

"What I would advise them to do though is to make it their own," Sheen told Patrick. "Don't think about anything I've done brilliantly on the show for 177,000 episodes. But I would just tell them make it your own."

The embattled actor said he was glad he was fired from the CBS show because now he could be a "free agent" who would be able to pursue "things that are more creative than that slag pit of redundancy. And there's a part of me that kind of enjoyed taking all their money."

Sheen also denied taking drugs or alcohol on the "Men" set and told Patrick that he was training for another installment of "Major League."

Additionally, he cryptically told the sports radio host -- whom he blamed for "94%" of his media-exposed problems -- that his Wednesday morning call-in could be his last interview ever.

"This could be my final interview," Sheen said. "It's kind of symbolic. This is where it all began and where it all ends."

Then he backpedaled, saying he would talk to Patrick exclusively from here on out because he hated reporters who "gladhand me to get into my home and then they vilify me in their narrative speak."

Creepy as an unwinning troll or warlock streaming live while smoking cigarettes and yapping on the phone? Perhaps even creepier.

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-- Nardine Saad
twitter.com/NardineSaad

Photos: Charlie Sheen, left; Rob Lowe, center; John Stamos, right. Credits: Greg Gayne / CBS / Associated Press, left; Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images, center; Charles Sykes / Associated Press, right

Mike Huckabee on pregnant-out-of-wedlock Natalie Portman

Nothing like a little sound-bite tango to take the edge off of an Oscar win -- Mike Huckabee made headlines this last week for comments about actress Natalie Portman, specifically regarding her and fiance Benjamin Millepied getting pregnant while unwed.

On Monday, the will-he-or-won't-he 2012 presidential prospect went on Mike Medved's radio program to discuss his new book, and used Portman as a reference in discussing single mothers in the United States.

"People see a Natalie Portman who boasts, 'We're not married but we're having these children and they're doing just fine. ... I think it gives a distorted image. It's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of out-of-wedlock children," Huckabee said.

The former Arkansas governor's book leads off with a chapter titled "The Most Important Form of Government is a Father, Mother, and Children."

In the days after that interview, Huckabee learned what happens when you say stuff about Natalie Portman.

The comments went wide, almost universally perceived as a diss, prompting Huckabee to post some follow-up remarks on his website Friday.

"Natalie is an extraordinary actor, very deserving of her recent Oscar and I am glad she will marry her baby's father. However, contrary to what the Hollywood media reported, I did not 'slam' or 'attack' Natalie Portman," he wrote.

"My comments were about the statistical reality that most single moms are very poor, under-educated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death. That's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that society often glorifies and glamorizes the idea of having children out of wedlock."

(For the record, the Christian Science Monitor notes, statistics show that while families headed by a single mom have a higher poverty rate than families headed by a single dad or a married couple, the majority of single-mom households do not fall below the poverty level.)

Portman remained mum. We'd love your thoughts, and can we just say -- how about a week of peace for the best actress Oscar winners after they take the prize?

Let us not forget that Sandra Bullock had only a precious few days with her gold statue before, well, you know. 

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Photo: Natalie Portman clutches her Oscar, and shows off her baby bump, at the 2011 Governors Ball following the Academy Awards. Credit: Getty Images

Steve Harvey responds to ex-wife Mary Harvey's allegations after judge's OK

Comedian and radio personality Steve Harvey is firing back against his ex-wife Mary Harvey, now that a Texas judge has temporarily lifted a gag order prohibiting him from speaking about the case.

The former Mary Shackelford, Harvey's second wife, took to YouTube last month to bash her ex-husband and give her version of the dissolution of their marriage in a three-video series.

The judge ordered her Monday to take down the videos and stop talking about the case. As of Tuesday, the videos had indeed been taken down from her YouTube account -- but they live on through others'.

Steve Harvey's rep Bobbie Edmonds said that the judge lifted the gag order per the comedian's request so that he could respond to his ex-wife's allegations that he was unfaithful, evicted her, took their son and left her penniless. A March 10 hearing will determine if Mary Harvey can be held in contempt of court for violating the injunction, according to Edmonds' statement.

Howard Stern contract comes on anniversary of last Artie Lange appearance [poll]

The new Howard Stern contract was big news Thursday, and also a reminder that the Sirius XM radio show doesn't happen in a vacuum. As fans on sites such as Save Baby Gorilla are pointing out, it's also been one year since sidekick Artie Lange last appeared on Stern's radio show.

A few days after that Dec. 9, 2009, show, fans would learn that Sirius management had asked the comic to "take some time off" -- then on Jan. 3, he attemped suicide by stabbing himself, but was found by his mother in time for doctors to save his life. At the time, Stern squashed rumors that Artie had quit the show.

Lange, who has struggled over the years with substance abuse, returned to the New York stand-up comedy stage in September. (Coincidentally, it was the same weekend comic Greg Giraldo was hospitalized in New Jersey for an overdose of prescription medication. Giraldo died days later.) Lange, who currently has no show dates on his calendar, recently put his Toms River, N.J., home up for sale for $3.5 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Whether Artie returns to the Stern show is uncertain, but the new contract definitely means there's a bigger window of opportunity. Thoughts?

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Photo: Artie Lange at the "Beer League" premiere in 2006. Credit: Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Howard Stern has a new five-year contract with Sirius XM

Howard Stern has signed a new contract and will stay on satellite radio for five more years, he announced Thursday on his Sirius XM show.

Earlier in the week, he'd said -- using vocabulary satellite radio allows -- that he wouldn't take, um, any kind of pay cut to stay on the job. Sirius XM shares were up 20% in early trading Thursday, reports Company Town, which also notes that some analysts think Stern might cut down the number of shows he does each week from the current four. He started out on satellite doing five shows a week.

Though details of the contract weren't released, one analyst estimated it to be worth $400 million over five years, the Hollywood Reporter said. 

Laura Schlessinger, aka Dr. Laura, also recently signed a satellite radio contract. Stern bailed on terrestrial radio in 2006 after pushing the limits with the Federal Communications Commission for years.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Howard Stern in New York on Dec. 1. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press

 

Dr. Laura signs on with Sirius XM satellite radio [poll]

Just added to Dr. Laura fans' holiday gift lists: a subscription to Sirius XM Radio.

Laura Schlessinger follows in the big-name footsteps of Howard Stern in signing a multiple-year contract with the premium satellite radio service. Like Stern, "She will have far less listeners now, but she will be able to superserve her core [audience] with less compromise," according to Michael Harrison, publisher of the trade publication Talkers.

In August, she announced her departure from terrestrial radio amid controversy over her use of the N-word repeatedly with a black caller who'd asked for advice on how to respond to use of that word by her white husband and his friends. Schlessinger told The Times she'd already been considering ending her radio career, with the furor over the Aug. 10 exchange tipping the scales.

"The first and most important thing that appealed to me was the freedom to speak my mind without advertisers and affiliates being attacked by activist groups that just love to censor anything they don't agree with," Schlessinger said about Sirius, which contacted her the day after she announced on Larry King's show that she'd be off the air at the end of the year. "That just about made my heart and head explode."

Dr. Laura's new show will air 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting Jan. 3. It will also be available online and through apps on many smart phones, Sirius said; shows will be repeated on radio over the weekend.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Credit: Talk show host Laura Schlessinger, also known as Dr. Laura. Credit: Sirius XM Radio / Associated Press

 

Dr. Laura tells audience what's hurt her the most [poll]

In the wake of her recent announcement that she'd be leaving radio at the end of the year, Laura Schlessinger spent some time during her Thursday "The Dr. Laura Program" broadcast reading and responding to recent messages from fans. She also shared what has hurt her the most in her years of broadcasting -- oddly, it wasn't the message from the person who wished that one day Dr. Laura would walk into her son's bedroom and find him "dead with a needle sticking in his vein."

"The thing that has hurt most," Schlessinger said, "is people who haven't read what I've written, people who haven't heard me on the air, telling other people to hate me. The word hate comes up so often."

"Isn't that hateful, all that name calling, and not wanting to know the truth?"

In what she said later was an attempt to make a "philosophical point," the radio host used the N-word repeatedly on the air with a caller on her Aug. 10 show. She cut that show short and apologized the next day. 

On "Larry King Live" on Tuesday, Schlessinger announced that she would be leaving radio ...

Book deal for Baba Booey: Howard Stern producer will write a memoir

Howard Stern producer Gary Dell'Abate, a.k.a. Baba Booey, has scored a deal to write a memoir for Random House, SiriusBuzz reports.

Stern mentioned the forthcoming book on his Wednesday show, according to the radio show's website, and Dell'Abate joined him:

Gary came in to say his shrink has a theory about growing up in the Dell'Abate household: "Every day when you turned the doorknob, you didn't know if you were going to be kicked in the teeth emotionally or hugged." Howard laughed: "Everything with you is teeth!" Gary said his boyhood home's front door prepared him for working on the show: "It's kind of like opening the door to the studio every day."

Expect an early November release for "They Call Me Baba Booey," which Dell'Abate will write with author Chad Millman, who previously co-wrote mixed martial artist and UFC champ Chuck Lidell's autobiography.

Perhaps that experience has prepared Millman for working with a member of Stern's crew?

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Mark McGrath, left, sings with Gary Dell'Abate, a.k.a. Baba Booey of "The Howard Stern Show," on a charity edition of Fox's "Don't Forget the Lyrics" that aired in March 2009. Credit Greg Gayne / Fox.

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