Doug Stanhope … Previously on the Howard Stern Show

Actor, stand-up comedian, and frequent guest returns to the studio Monday to talk about his new book, "Digging Up Mother: A Love Story"

June 20, 2016
AND BINGO WAS HER NAME-O AND BINGO WAS HER NAME-O Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Stand-up comedian, actor, and frequent Stern Show guest Doug Stanhope returns to the studio Monday to chat with Howard about his recently released book, “Digging Up Mother: A Love Story.”

To whet listeners appetites, here is a smattering of Doug’s greatest hits… previously on the Howard Stern Show.

An In-Depp Look at London

When Stanhope and his girlfriend Amy “Bingo” Bingaman visited the show in 2014, they didn’t come empty handed. Despite the fact that the interview started bright and early at 7 a.m., the duo walked into the studio with grapefruit cocktails, which is perhaps why their discussion with Howard took several awesome but unexpected turns — none more interesting than Doug’s recounting of how he became buddies with A-list movie star Johnny Depp.

Stanhope said it all started after Depp watched his comedy special “Beer Hall Putsch” and was blown away. Depp was apparently so impressed by Doug’s jokes that he called him up and invited him to hang out… at some point. Doug was down to kick it, obviously, but it didn’t happen immediately. He wound up waiting by the phone for Johnny’s follow-up call for weeks. Fearing the worst, Doug even prepped a six minute stand-up bit about the time Mr. Depp called him to hang out but didn’t follow through.

But Johnny did call him back and when he did he invited Doug and Bingo to visit him in London, even offering to put them up in a fancy hotel. The duo naturally took him up on his offer and, while they were there, visited Depp on a movie set, hung out with rock stars like Ronnie Wood and Patti Smith, and smoked a bunch of cigarettes.

When Doug and Bingo checked out of the five-star hotel a few weeks later, however, there was a problem. Doug told Howard Johnny’s assistant had forgotten to pick up the room tab, so the hotel stuck them with a bill for a whopping $15,000.

Thankfully, Doug sent Depp a text and the actor quickly took care of the whole thing.

Bingo Gets ‘Normal’ and Sarah Palin Ruins Alaska

Photo: iStock

When Doug stopped by the studio in 2009, he announced to Howard and the crew that his girlfriend Bingo was taking a variety of medications, including lithium, Lexapro, and Temazepam, and was finally feeling “normal.” “Now I think she’s kind of dopey,” he explained. “She’s never boring… but she’s not running down the street naked talking into a manhole like it’s a telephone.”

After Howard wondered why the comedian had recently cut back on his stand-up dates, however, Doug admitted he hadn’t been feeling all that normal himself. He said he had to work through a few things: “I started to hate the sound of my own voice,” he told Howard. “I got hate mail and I started to agree with it.”

Doug said he had recently taken a trip to Alaska to help clear his mind, but then he lamented how the state had changed for the worse. He said The Last Frontier was once a wild place, not to mention packed to the brim with brothels, but it had become more of a police state since Sarah Palin had become governor in 2006.

Robin asked Doug what he got into while he was up there — had he gone bear hunting, perhaps?

“I don’t know,” Doug laughed. “It all looked like the inside of a bar to me.”