Fartman (Howard Stern)

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Fartman is a fictional superhero created by Howard Stern. The character first appeared on the radio on The Howard Stern Show in the early 1980’s. According to the trademark that Howard Stern filed for the character on October 16, 1992, he first used Fartman in July of 1981. ^[1]

Fartman generally attacks evil using his super powered flatulence.

On March 7, 1989, Howard Stern as Fartman called the Iranian Embassy. This routine was later animated for “The Howard Stern Radio Show”, a late night syndicated television show. This animation aired on Episode #80 on March 17, 2001.

On August 1st, 1989, Howard Stern as Fartman calls Beirut, Lebanon.

In the early 1990’s, at the beginning of Desert Storm, Howard Stern as Fartman calls the Iraqi Embassy about the takeover of Kuwait.

Other Fartman bits from this era include the Fartman Theme Song and Fartman calls Mrs. Fartman.

On July, 28, 1992, Howard Stern talks on the radio about the possibility of an upcoming Fartman movie.

On September 9, 1992, Howard Stern as Fartman made a famous appearance on the MTV Video Music Awards. Actor Luke Perry introduced him. Howard was in his famous Fartman uniform and had just come down to the stage when Metallica band members James Hetfield (Lead vocals), Lars Ulrich (drummer) and Kirk Hammett (Lead guitar), were making their acceptance speech. Howard was interrupting their speech showing his ass to the audience. Ulrich then kicked Howard in the ass. Howard later apologized on the radio to Lars Ulrich for this incident on August 20, 1996. He apologized to James Hetfield on the radio on July 30, 2004.

On November 25, 1992, Variety reports that Jonathan Lawton is planning to write and direct New Line's Howard Stern project, titled "The Adventures of Fartman." The film, which will be budgeted at a bloated--for New Line--$ 8 million-to-$ 11 million, is expected to go into production next May in New York. David Permut will produce the film under his Permut Presentations Banner, which has a first-look deal at New Line. According to Lawton, "The Adventures of Fartman" will revolve around the superhero and his alter ego, a magazine publisher in the mold of Screw magazine's Al Goldstein. Lawton also explained that the character becomes Fartman after mistakenly taking a high colonic filled with gasoline. ^[2]

Around the same time, Wired Magazine chimes in that the movie features the character of Clyde Flatiron, a tabloid reporter who survives an attempted poisoning by the mob and finds that its side effect chronic, devastating flatulence makes a handy weapon for literally blowing away the bad guys.^[3]

On June 28, 1993, Time Magazine reports that J.F. Lawton, writer of Pretty Woman and Under Siege is working on a screenplay for “The Adventures of Fartman” Lawton told Time "There's a lot of nudity, some harsh language, a lesbian love scene, and the main character works for an underground sex magazine. We told New Line Cinema the plot, and they said, 'Yeah, it sounds great. But can't we make it PG-13?' "^[4]

The Fartman movie was not put into production. Instead, Howard Stern made a movie out of his bestselling book, Private Parts. “Private Parts” hits theatres on March 7, 1997 with the opening scene being a reenactment of Howard Stern’s Fartman appearance at the 1992 MTV Music Awards.

On February 16, 1999, Howard states on the radio that he is in talks with movie studios to finally bring out his movie Fartman. He said that it will go into production in the summer of 1999, and that there are movie studios prepared to finance it.^[5]

On March 8, 1999, Howard Stern says on the radio that he has spoken to one studio about doing a Fartman movie and they say they will do it. Howard Stern said his agent, Don Buchwald, is working with that studio to see if it will happen. ^[6]

On March 24, 1999, Zap2it.com interviews Lawton who states that Howard Stern is ready to go into production on “The Adventures of Fartman” Lawton says that "It's a good script with a story of unrequited love, like 'Casablanca.'" Fartman is hot for a lesbian, who Lawton thinks should be played by television babe Pamela Anderson. ^[7]

On March 26, 1999, Ain’t It Cool News reports that Howard Stern may soon make a Fartman movie playing a would be journalist whose colon is laced with a nuclear cocktail which turns his digestive system into "an odorfire Three Mile Island."^[8]

On June 4, 1999, Director Ivan Reitman discourages Howard Stern from doing Fartman for his next movie. ^[9]

On June 10, 1999, British Journalist Gary Bushell asked Howard Stern what's next in his career. Howard says that he is still considering doing the Fartman movie. ^[10]

On December 1, 1999, Howard Stern states on the radio that the Fartman movie is on hold. He has a script and two studios willing to do it but he is not sure that it's not the right time to do it. ^[11]

On April 29, 2000, There was a Fartman animation on episode #59 of The Howard Stern Radio Show, a late night syndicated television show. ^[12]

On February 12, 2002 Howard Stern said on the radio that he might shoot the Fartman movie for a video release to his fans.

On March 7, 2003, Howard Stern interviewed Adam West and together they called Iraq as Fartman and Batman.

On June 23, 2005, Howard Stern states on the radio that he really wished they had made the Fartman movie in which the main character is a young man who is beaten by thugs, and his doctors heal him by giving him a bionic sphincter. Howard said he had everything he needed all lined up to make the movie, but decided not to because it wasn't the movie he wanted to make for his first film. Instead he made "Private Parts".

On October 31, 2005, Howard Stern states that he has an Adventures of Fartman cartoon in the works for his new Sirius Satellite Radio Channel and it may go over to his In Demand cable show as well. ^[13]

On February 9, 2006, Howard Stern as Fartman called Beirut, Lebanon. Fartman told him that he’s very upset about what’s going on over there and instructed the guy to not hate Americans. But the guy on the phone surprised Howard by identifying him as Howard Stern. ^[14]

On February 22, 2006- Howard Stern announces a Howard Stern Film Festival. He says that Fartman movies will be allowed, and that the films must under 5 minutes in length, and received by April 11, 2006. ^[15]

April 17, 2006 – Howard Stern reports that they received over 2,200 films, including many Fartman films, and there will be only eight finalists. ^[16]

April 19, 2006 – one Fartman entry, “Fartman: Caught in a Tight Ass” from director, Tammy Caplan, and written by Tammy Caplan and Joe Tyler Gold, is first chosen as a potential finalist in the festival, but then disqualified for using professional actors from the Screen Actors Guild. ^[17]

April 27, 2006 Howard Stern Film Festival takes place at the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY with eight finalist films. None are Fartman. ^[18]

June 14, 2006 “Fartman: Caught in a Tight Ass” begins airing on Howard TV, Howard Stern’s iN Demand Cable Channel as part of the their “Best of the Film Festival” series. This is the first live action Fartman movie ever to be shown on television. It introduces the evil villain, Tight Ass, who has the ability to squeeze weapons from his ass. It also introduces a love interest for Fartman, the beautiful Labia Lips. ^[19]

March 2, 2007 Howard TV promotes itself by placing “Fartman: Caught in a Tight Ass” on the short film website, Atom Films. ^[20]