European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A a a a a stuttering John vaults from Howard Stern to music by Richard Leiby the Washington Post a a a a a a answer any question you ask promises John Melendez. A if i did no to do that id be a hypocrite.�?�. Tru e. O no in the modern m cd i a age has asked More perverse and Emba Nass ing questions of Public figures than Melendez known to millions As stuttering John for the past six years he has served As chief celebrity ambushed for radio pornographer Howard Stem who has dispatched the Tongue twisted Melendez to goad reactions from the likes of Cindy Crawford Quot do you paint that mole on a Ron Howard a does directing make you lose your hair Quot Luciano Pavarotti a did you Ever  in a Bathtub a Raquel. Welch a Are they drooping Jet a Walter Mondale a were you afraid that Ferraro would get cramps in office a and Gennifer Flowers a will you he sleeping with any other presidential candidates a ,. Melendez a speech impediment often elicits sympathy from his unwitting victims who. Patiently wait. For him to stammer out a Complete sentence before their eyes Widen in horror. No wonder Melendez is. The Bane of press agents who have attempted to. Bartish him from the Charity dinners awards ceremonies and other carefully orchestrated events where their clients expect to bask in adoring video am lights and answer dandelion fluff questions Fri h air kisses a. A a a a a it a become a game a Melendez says smiling impish by from behind a. Wall of hair a i use wigs fake mustaches glasses and different hats to get in a How Odd then that today Melendez Isa Compa Nied by his very own publicist a a Young woman who a few years ago working for another client helped throw stuttering John out of a fund Raiser Melendez is seeking kind press for. The debut album by his Rock group stuttering John. It would be tempting to say that the album ii merely compe. Tent somewhat derivative fill in the Blanks head bangers fare except its actually better than that. It would also be glib to dismiss Melendez As a Hanger on to Sterns considerable coattails who got a record Deal Only because of his Bossy notoriety but hat is Only half True. It would be easy to attack Melendez As someone who has debased himself t eagerly and shamelessly consigned himself to the Freak show a but you could say that about anyone who works for Howard Stern. Stuttering John Melendez is a bit More complicated. He might even deserve sympathy. At the very least he deserves the Chance to become what he de. Spies a celebrity. The King of aim terns he has been choked slapped pushed from his chair shoved Down stairs a they treat me like in a the anti Chr to says Melendez 28, who comes. Across even in Rock Issue combat boots As a gentle soul. Most of the questions Are written for him be says. A a a a. His stutter today is mild catching on the occasional of h and m. A a lot of. These celebrities done to get it a they done to want to Ever be Able to laugh at themselves. They Are so used to being treated As the elite they put themselves on such a Pedestal. They forget they Are just human  Melendez punctures the stars bloated egos by needling their frailties. Its evidence of Sterns fiendish Genius that he hired Melendez sight unseen when a staffer recommended him for an internship with the warning that a this kid stutters a wonderful a. Atlantic a stuttering John Melendez promos his album. Said Stem who a used interns for the ambush bit before he knew that if the questions did no to get a laugh Melendez a impairment would. On a if Stem treats stuttering John with contempt. Recently the talk show Host a who has secured the libertarian party nomination for governor of new York a pledged at a news conference that. Stuttering John would have no role in his administration a because he Sart  Stern Calls Melendez the a hero of the stupid and Quot King of All interns a whose Job includes a cleaning the toilets at the a Rock studio. Actually Melendez still has to an Swei the phones screening Calls for Stem a at least i done to have to clean his potatoes any. More a says my Lendez explaining that interns chores include preparing Sterns lunch which always consists of two Plain baked potatoes and four ounces of White Turkey. Even after head finished his degree amp a a few of the questions posed to celebrities by Quot stuttering John Melendez to Phil Donahue a do you Pray that Oprah would eat until she explodes a Donahue a a that a not  a to the Dalai Lama Quot what was it like to Wake up one Day and realize that you were god a. Lama leans Forward to microphone stunned. Melendez a do people Ever say to you a hello Dalai a Richard Gere responding on behalf of the holy Man a a very strange one. How about another one a to Cher a How do you respond to rumours that you re evil a chert laughs a wok  to Morton Downeyjr. A would you let your wife dance topless in clubs for Money if you really needed it a. Downey a i  ask my lady to do that. In be got too much  Melee ensues in which Downey throttles Melendez and pushes him out of a chair a play that you silly Little expletive a Richard Leiby in filmmaking at new York University Melendez earned nothing for risking his life posing rude questions. A. ,. Now he a paid $20,000 a year. But he a the Only Gofer with a record contract. And from the beginning that Why he wanted the Job with Stern. Head played guitar Sung and written songs growing lip on Long Island head formed bands. On his first Day on the Job he brought in a self produced cd. Stem immediately christened him stuttering John. Melendez was t thrilled. A you can Call me anything you want if you play my music a he told Stem a look in a going to Call you that whether i play it or not a Stern responded. But the talk show Host has repeatedly hyped Melendez a music to his 15 million listeners. A the played it and record labels started calling a Melendez says. Eventually Atlantic signed  what he remembers most about childhood is humiliation. The stammering started when he was 4. He does no to know Why and years of speech therapy in elementary school and Junior High did no to cure it. He was the youngest of four children his older sister Joyce looked out for hire on the school bus in College the humiliation worsened. A in fort Lauderdale on Spring break i sat in the Jacuzzi praying that people would not ask me where i was from. Because i  spit it out North Massage  a. A a a a a but singing was different. A people done to understand the whole stuttering mentality a says Melen Doz a a stutterer does no to stutter when he sings he does no to stutter when he yells he does no to stutter when he talks to  at concerts fans sometimes taunt him if he sings so smoothly the stutter must be an act a that bothers me. In be gone through life being called stutter face and skip. I can to do it on  yet that a exactly what he docs for the Howard Stern show. Stress aggravates the disorder which experts say is rooted in the brains speech processing Center. In his own embarrassment Over asking embarrassing questions Melendez stutters even More. One tape Stern likes to play is labelled a a John a super stutter we Roger Daltry a an agonizing 10 Quot seconds of . A i really done to appreciate stuttering John being used As a a to make fun of stutterers a says Ira Zimmerman a Board member of the National stuttering project in san Francisco who has appeared on stems show to protest the mockery. A it reinforces other persons laughing at us and it ready just glorifies rude behaviour. I certainly wish John All the sue pcs in the world with his musical career because id like to see him break Loose of Howard Stern and re gain his self respect As an individual.�?�. This View is not Universal among the 1 percent of the adult population who stutter. Melendez says fans with the impediment consider him a role Model. Someone who is not afraid to expose and embrace. His disability it gives them Confidence. A they thank me a he says. The first single from his album expresses his flip survivors attitude. The title ill talk my Way out of it. A a a \ that a another Good thing about his modicum of Fame a a it a kind of a payback for All the kids who made fun of  question so. What to ask the Man who will ask or answer anything this comes to mind was there Ever a question you refused to ask yes. A it was a Charles Barkley press conference a couple Days after Michael Jordan a father got killed in the car. One of the questions to Charles Barkley was a Are you going to give your dad advice on How to not get shot in the car a and i  ask that question a i came Back to Howard and said a sorry Man i really  do  and Howard looked at the question and said a i done to blame  Quot sometimes you just have to feel sorry for people. I Page 26 sunday july 10. 1994