How is Howard Stern able to get the biggest stars on his show?
With aggressive online marketing, according to former Stern staffer “Stuttering” John Melendez.
Melendez — whose “Easy for You To Say” memoir is available on Amazon and will arrive in bookstores on Tuesday from Rare Bird Books — told me Stern urges his staff to create Twitter accounts and then bombard celebrities with messages trying to lure them to be guests.
The author includes a photo of Stern apparently showing his staff an example of what they should tweet: “Hey Lady Gaga, HS loves you, go on show.”
The star of “A Star Is Born” has actually been on Stern’s show on SiriusXM satellite radio three times in the past three years.
The photo is captioned: “Who is this person, and what has he done with Howard?”
Melendez settles quite a few scores in the book, with Stern as well as colleagues Robin Quivers, Gary Dell’Abate, Jackie Martling, Fred Norris and Artie Lange.
The Long Island native credits Stern as a genius who gave him a career, but he complains that Stern was cheap with his Christmas presents and didn’t come to his wedding.
Melendez revels in detailing the pranks he played on his co-workers and the absurdly rude questions he put to celebs, the shtick that made him famous and led to his announcing gig on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”
One of the best was when Melendez asked André Previn, Mia Farrow’s ex, “Why is everyone so afraid to bad-mouth that cradle robber, Woody Allen?”
Previn’s reply was played over and over again in following years: “Oh get away from me, you and your jerky questions, you bloody fool!”
Melendez doesn’t expect Stern to mention the book on-air, joking “But maybe he’ll sue me, which will only help me.”
Stern’s camp did not respond to requests for comment.