The Best Ever Howard Stern Interviews

Stern Fan
Updated September 15, 2023 38.8K votes 6.0K voters 724.1K views
Over 6.0K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Ever Howard Stern Interviews
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The best ever Howard Stern interviews include several riveting segments featuring famous people revealing deep, dark secrets. What are the best Howard Stern interviews? Sometimes, they're just being funny, or Howard's totally making fun of them (or all of the above). What are the best Howard Stern celebrity interviews of all time? This list includes some of the most awesome interviews Howard Stern's ever conducted. It includes A-list celebrities, musicians, talk show hosts, and moguls. Who do you think is the best ever Howard Stern interview? Vote for your favorites. This list is far from complete - so feel free to add new interviewees to this Howard Stern guest list. 

After decades on air, Howard Stern has basically seen (and heard) it all. Stern fans know that some of the greatest Stern interviews happen when celebrities reveal way more than they intended to. Year after year, Stern listeners are treated to shocking revelations from the rich and famous, whether it's discussing freakishly strange illnesses (Marilu Henner), divorces (Adrianne Curry), crazy escapades (Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards), or past drug addictions (Lady Gaga).

Some of the best ever Howard Stern interviews are spontaneous, too. Case in point: Courteney Cox's decision to show up (unannounced) to the Stern show during her estranged hubby David Arquette's interview and discuss (very openly) the state of their failing marriage. The best Howard Stern interviews are those, like Cox/Arquette, that reveal something interesting about the guest. These Howard Stern celebrity interviews are like no other talk show experience.

What is the best Howard Stern interview? This list includes the best celebrity interviews/segments on Howard Stern's show. For more great Stern-related info, check out these lists of the best frequent Howard Stern guests, the funniest Howard Stern Wack Packers and the most irritating Stern Show regulars.

Most divisive: Wilmer Valderrama
Ranked by
  • Norm Macdonald
    1

    Norm Macdonald

    Age: 59
    473 votes
    • Birthplace: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
    Norman Gene Macdonald (October 17, 1959 – September 14, 2021) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for his deadpan style. Early in his career, he wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made guest appearances on shows such as The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. Macdonald was then a cast member on Saturday Night Live (SNL) for five years, including anchoring the Weekend Update segment for three seasons. After leaving SNL, he starred in the 1998 film Dirty Work and in his own sitcom, The Norm Show, from 1999 to 2001. In 2013, Macdonald started a video podcast, Norm Macdonald Live, on which he interviewed comedians and other celebrities. In 2018, he released Norm Macdonald Has a Show, a Netflix talk show with a similar premise to his podcast. Throughout his career, Macdonald had appeared in numerous movies and been a guest on talk shows such as Conan, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Howard Stern Show.
  • Lady Gaga
    2

    Lady Gaga

    Age: 37
    1,506 votes
    • Birthplace: New York City, USA, New York
    Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her unconventionality, provocative work and visual experimentation. Gaga began performing as a teenager, singing at open mic nights and acting in school plays. She studied at Collaborative Arts Project 21, through New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, before dropping out to pursue a music career. When Def Jam Recordings canceled her contract, she worked as a songwriter for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where Akon helped her sign a joint deal with Interscope Records and his own label KonLive Distribution in 2007. She rose to prominence the following year with her debut album, the electropop record The Fame, and its chart-topping singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". A follow-up EP, The Fame Monster (2009), featuring the singles "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro", was also successful. Gaga's second full-length album, Born This Way (2011), explored electronic rock and techno-pop. It peaked atop the US Billboard 200 and sold more than one million copies in the country in its first week. Its title track became the fastest selling song on the iTunes Store with over a million downloads in less than a week. Gaga experimented with EDM on her third studio album, Artpop (2013), which reached number one in the US and included the single "Applause". Her collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett, Cheek to Cheek (2014), and her soft rock-influenced fifth studio album, Joanne (2016), also topped the US charts. During this period, Gaga ventured into acting, playing leading roles in the miniseries American Horror Story: Hotel (2015–2016), for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and the critically acclaimed musical drama A Star Is Born (2018). She also contributed to the latter's soundtrack, which received the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and made her the only woman to achieve five US number one albums in the 2010s. Its lead single, "Shallow", earned Gaga the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Having sold 27 million albums and 146 million singles as of January 2016, Gaga is one of the world's best-selling music artists. Her achievements include several Guinness world records, nine Grammy Awards, and awards from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Council of Fashion Designers of America. She has been declared Billboard's Artist of the Year and Woman of the Year, and included among Forbes's power and earnings rankings. She was ranked number four on VH1's Greatest Women in Music in 2012 and second on Time's 2011 readers' poll of the most influential people of the past ten years. She is known for her philanthropy and social activism, including her work related to LGBT rights, and for her nonprofit organization, the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on empowering youth and preventing bullying.
  • Artie Lange
    3

    Artie Lange

    Age: 55
    497 votes
    • Birthplace: Union Township, New Jersey
    Arthur Steven Lange Jr. (born October 11, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian and actor, best known for his tenures on The Howard Stern Show and the sketch comedy series Mad TV. Born and raised in New Jersey, Lange first worked as a longshoreman and taxi driver to help support his family following the death of his quadriplegic father. In 1987, he made his debut as a stand up comic and took up the profession full-time in the early 1990s, performing in clubs and improv shows in and around New York City. In 1995, Lange moved to Los Angeles to star in the first season of Mad TV. His arrest for cocaine possession during the second season led to his departure and subsequent rehabilitation. In 1997, Norm Macdonald chose Lange to co-star in his comedy film Dirty Work (1998), which secured Lange several film and television roles including Macdonald's sitcom, The Norm Show. In 2001, Lange returned to New Jersey and became a member of The Howard Stern Show until December 2009. He pursued various projects during this time; he released two comedy albums, co-wrote, produced, and starred in his feature film, Artie Lange's Beer League (2006), and released his first book, Too Fat to Fish (2008), which entered The New York Times Best Seller list at number one. In 2011, Lange completed rehabilitation and resumed his career. He co-hosted The Nick & Artie Show with Nick Di Paolo until Di Paolo's departure in 2013; the show was renamed The Artie Lange Show and lasted until 2014. During this time, Lange released his second book, Crash and Burn (2013). He hosted the podcast The Artie Quitter Podcast from 2015 to 2017, and his third book, Wanna Bet?, was released July 17, 2018. Lange was co-host of The Artie and Anthony Show with Anthony Cumia in 2017 and 2018 and continues to perform stand-up and act, most recently in the HBO series Crashing.
  • Robert Downey Jr.
    4

    Robert Downey Jr.

    Age: 58
    363 votes
    • Birthplace: New York City, Manhattan, USA, New York
    Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor, producer and singer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular notoriety in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resumption of critical repute and resurgence of commercial success in middle age. In 2008, Downey was named by Time magazine among the 100 most influential people in the world, and from 2013 to 2015, he was listed by Forbes as Hollywood's single highest-paid actor. His films have grossed over $5.8 billion in North America and $14.4 billion internationally, making him the second-highest-grossing box-office actor to date both domestically and worldwide.At the age of five, he made his acting debut in Robert Downey Sr.'s film Pound in 1970. His subsequent films, until the end of the 80s, brought him in association with the group of actors called the Brat Pack, to include the teen sci-fi comedy Weird Science and the drama Less Than Zero. In 1992, Downey secured a height of critical regard when he took on the title character in the film Chaplin, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and won the equivalent category at the BAFTA Awards. Following a stint at the Corcoran Substance Abuse Treatment Facility sentenced on drug charges, he joined the eminent TV series Ally McBeal. Playing the love interest of Calista Flockhart, he won a Golden Globe Award; however in the wake of two drug charges, one in late 2000 and one in early 2001, he was fired and his character terminated. He stayed in a court-ordered drug treatment program shortly after and has maintained his sobriety since 2003. Initially, bond completion companies would not insure Downey for roles in feature films. Mel Gibson, who had been a close friend to Downey since both had co-starred in Air America, paid the insurance bond for the 2003 film The Singing Detective. Downey's performance in that film paved the way for his return to feature films including a role in the black comedy crime film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), the mystery thriller Zodiac (2007), and the satirical action comedy Tropic Thunder (2008); for the latter he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Downey went on to star as the Marvel Comics character Tony Stark in ten films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Iron Man (2008) and concluding with Avengers: Endgame (2019). He has also played the title character in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes (2009), which earned him his second Golden Globe win, and its sequel (2011).
  • Rodney Dangerfield
    5

    Rodney Dangerfield

    Dec. at 82 (1921-2004)
    724 votes
    • Birthplace: Deer Park, New York
    Jack Roy (born Jacob Rodney Cohen, November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004), popularly known by the stage name Rodney Dangerfield, was an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, screenwriter, musician and author. He was known for his self-deprecating one-liners humor, his catchphrase "I get no respect!" and his monologues on that theme. He began his career working as a stand-up comic in the Borscht Belt resorts of the Catskill Mountains northwest of New York City. His act grew in notoriety as he became a mainstay on late-night talk shows throughout the 1960s and 1970s, eventually developing into a headlining act on the Las Vegas casino circuit. He appeared in a few bit parts in films such as The Projectionist throughout the 1970s, but his breakout film role came in 1980 as a boorish nouveau riche golfer in the ensemble comedy Caddyshack, which was followed by two more successful films: 1983's Easy Money and 1986's Back to School. Additional film work kept him busy through the rest of his life, mostly in comedies, but with a rare dramatic role in 1994's Natural Born Killers as an abusive father. Health troubles curtailed his output through the early 2000s before his death in 2004, following a month in a coma due to complications from heart valve surgery.
  • Bill Murray
    6

    Bill Murray

    Age: 73
    1,073 votes
    • Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois, USA
    William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, filmmaker, and writer. He first rose to fame on Saturday Night Live, a series of performances that earned him his first Emmy Award, and later starred in comedy films—including Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Tootsie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), Scrooged (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), What About Bob? (1991), and Groundhog Day (1993). He also co-directed Quick Change (1990). Murray garnered additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), which earned him a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and for frequently collaborating with director Wes Anderson. He also received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Ghostbusters, Rushmore (1998), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), St. Vincent (2014), and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), for which he later won his second Primetime Emmy Award. Murray received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016. His comedy is known for its deadpan delivery.