John Melendez (born October 4, 1965), commonly known as "Stuttering John" and "Hero of the Stupid", is a Puerto Rican - American television/radio personality. Before his present job as announcer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Melendez was a regular on-air personality on The Howard Stern Show.

Early years

Melendez was born in Massapequa, Long Island and attended Plainedge High School. Melendez began to stutter when he was in the second grade. According to Melendez, his problem came about because the psychological mistreatment from his alcoholic father who also stutters. Both he and his father suffer from some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. During his youth he was often picked on by other children for being Puerto Rican and was called "Stutterface," "Skip" and "M-C Stammer."

In 1988, Melendez attended New York University's film school, and belonged to a band called "Rock Slide". His college roommate was on the verge of quitting his internship with The Show, when Melendez asked him for a recommendation for an internship there. The show's producer, Gary Dell'Abate, mentioned Melendez's stuttering to who, without seeing him and even before he was interviewed, told the producer to hire him.

The Show

On Stern's show, Melendez conducted outrageous street interviews, premised on the idea that celebrities would not want to look bad by refusing an interview from a stutterer. Melendez also appeared at press conferences and asked off-the-wall questions to Gennifer Flowers, Ringo Starr, and the Dalai Lama. He asked the Dalai Lama, if anyone ever greeted him with "Hello Dolly!", in a joking reference to the play and movie; the Dalai Lama's translator whispered the translation to the Dalai Lama and a delayed chuckle came from the Dalai Lama. It seemed like he got the joke. He also provided comic interest with his misadventures, poor grammar and sloppy pronunciation.

According to the New York Post, Melendez says Stern didn't pay him fairly and "resented me doing any outside work"; Stern replied saying that Melendez is a "no-talent ingrate" and he should stick to holding up the mug on "The Tonight Show".

National exposure

Melendez received national exposure when Stern's show began airing on national television. During his 15-year run as Stern's sidekick/whipping boy, Melendez also starred in the Off-Broadway show Tony n' Tina's Wedding where he met his wife, Suzanna. Melendez had bit parts in the movies Airheads, Meet Wally Sparks, Dude, Where's My Car?, and 's movie Private Parts. He has also appeared on television on episodes of Wings, Baywatch Nights, and the U.S. version of the reality series I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.

The Tonight Show

Melendez worked with a speech coach to overcome his stuttering and was offered the position of announcer for The Tonight Show. He accepted the offer, debuting The Tonight Show on March 29, 2004. On this show, he is identified as "John Melendez" (as opposed to "Stuttering John Melendez," a name he avoids).

On November 30, 2007 NBC announced The Tonight Show crew including Melendez were being laid off as a result of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike and that when the strike ended NBC could not guarantee that Melendez and other staffers would be rehired.

Melendez plays guitar and sings. He has released at least two hard rock CDs with humorous lyrics, one on Atlantic Records and one on Razor & Tie Records. In 2004, Melendez provided the voice of Bob the computer on Tripping the Rift. He currently lives in the city of Calabasas, California with his wife, Suzanna Keller, and three children.