Letters from a Nut

Book excerpt: A collection of hilarious prank letters and their very real responses, featuring an introduction by Jerry Seinfeld. Who is Ted L. Nancy? He’s a concerned hotel guest searching for a lost tooth . . . He’s a superstitious Vegas high-roller who wants to gamble at a casino in his lucky shrimp outfit . . . He’s the genius inventor of “Six Day Underwear” . . . He’s a demanding dramatist seeking an audience for his play about his 26-year-old dog, Cinnamon . . . He’s the proud owner of Charles, a 36-year-old cat who owes his longevity to a pet food company . . . He’s a loyal fan of the King of Tonga . . . He is, in reality, a twisted prankster—a supremely off-kilter alter ego who sends patently ridiculous letters and queries to (and receives surprisingly earnest responses back from) corporate honchos, entertainment conglomerates, national publications, politicians, celebrities and heads of state to everyone, in fact, from the president of the Bon Ami Cleanser Company to US Vice President Al Gore. Letters From A Nut is an insanely inspired, truly madcap collection of Nancy correspondence, a laugh-out-loud-in-public-places aggregation of official—and officially certifiable—requests, complaints, fan mail, and questions that could not possibly have been taken seriously . . . but, amazingly, were!