‘Stuttering John’ to join ‘Tonight Show’

updated 4:07 p.m. ET Feb. 18, 2004

BURBANK - Jay Leno’s new announcer on “The Tonight Show” will be “Stuttering John” from Howard Stern’s radio show.

John Melendez starts March 29, replacing Edd Hall, who’s leaving the show after 12 years to concentrate on doing movies.

A spokeswoman for the Tonight Show says Melendez is working with a speech coach to control his stutter.

In addition to announcing, Melendez will be in sketches and go out on interviews. But the spokeswoman says they won’t be the sort of interviews Melendez did on the Stern show.

The spokeswoman says Tonight Show executives became interested in Melendez after seeing him on the reality show “I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here.” She says Melendez came across as a “peacemaker” and “family man.”