I was born Mark Harris Bleefeld in Brooklyn, NY on the first of February, 1949. My parents worked for the mafia as my late mom worked in a beauty parlor, dressing hair and giving manicures, all the while taking bets on the horses from the lady patrons to call into Park Slope quarters for my father to place.

Having a cerebral palsied brother 7 years older and a 3 year older sister at home, the both of us cleaned and cooked and together took care of our brother until the time our parents returned from work. I would shine shoes in a barber shop and take home many shoes from the neighbors to earn money and sell my dogs pups to friends to earn spending money. We were a very poor family with much love and devotion for each other.

At the age of 4 years old I was able to sing along with Tony Bennett's recordings of the day; my voice was far older and bigger than my years. The truest escape besides my singing pleasures were the movies and friends. As a teenager I grew into a very tall and handsome guy who graduated hairdressing school at night. After my formal graduation of Sheepshead Bay High School in1967, I went to New York's Catskill Mountains to work as a hairdresser during the summer and sing in hotels in the area.

When I returned to NYC in September 1967 I began to showcase around Manhattan going on before and after Bette Midler and Barry Manilow. During these times I was mentioned in the NY Post and shared the stage with the late Pearl Bailey who was doing "Hello Dolly" in the St. James theatre. I attended many Merv Griffen television shows with Ms. Miller and my then boyfriend Neil Sedaka, with whom I discovered breaking up was not hard to do (not hard at all).

Since I had a formal Broadway singing range and style and it was the 1960's, I simply dropped out after 3 years and married who I considered to be a childhood sweetheart, Gwenn. We divorced after having 3 childeren almost 13 years later. At that time I was financially successfully in the garment center and owned my own textile company, but needless to say, the wife got the house and all except for the judge awarding me custody of my oldest daughter. When my mother passed, my ex-wife suggested we remarry, but she had remained an awful and angry person without medicine. Instead, I lived with Melanie Harris for 6 years, having a daughter who is the exact personality as myself and is now 14 years old. She loves to sing - I can't imagine why!

Meeting and marrying the great legendary patriot Martha Raye was as much as a suprise to me as the publicity it yielded. To put it straight (if you'll pardon the expression) and honest is the fact that Martha Raye had a dreadful daughter, Melodye Condos, who had Martha tied up in the courts and expected to place Martha and her estate in conservatorship so that she would be in charge at the time of Martha's passing. Enter Mark Harris and so much for the daughters plot!

During my high publicity marriage I met many show business people and Howard Stern, who is even more controversial than I am, is just as brave. Howard gave me the right on air to hold our then president Clinton to his written letter to me, promising the medal of freedom for my wife if he became president. It took me and my campaigne (with Howard's permission to use his air time) 2-1/2 years before she received her well-deserved medal. Martha accepted it after being a double amputee.

I still have the medal because Martha did not wish to be buried with it because it had come from President Clinton. She told me if I ever get the chance to "Stick it up Jane Fonda's ass" DO SO!

I built a very lavish home as a testament to my life and Martha Raye's stardom on the grounds which she left to me, and I hope to honor Martha's memory with my own brand of entertainment a la mode.

Today as I am frequently heard on the radio show of Howard Stern, I delight in talking to the audience about everything from politics to sex. I enjoy radio, I feel, because of the on-air interaction with listeners coast to coast.

Of course my singing is really at the heart of my intentions so that I might lighten up our current crises, although I don't find it bothersome if my fans prefer my wit to my vocals. It does seem to me to be too much of a coincidence that now in war time I have all the knowledge Martha supplied me with and the singing style to make people listen to what's old is new!

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