RIP Calvert DeForest
March 21, 2007 
Quirky comedian Calvert DeForest, better known to television viewers as Larry “Bud” Melman on David Letterman’s shows, died in a Long Island hospital at the age of 85:
The balding, bespectacled nebbish who gained cult status as the oddball Larry “Bud” Melman on David Letterman’s late-night television shows has died after a long illness. […]
He made dozens of appearances on Letterman’s shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: singing a duet with Sonny Bono on “I Got You, Babe”; doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where her 1970s show was set; handing out hot towels to arrivals at New York’s Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Cue cards were often DeForest’s television kryptonite, and his character invariably appeared in an ill-fitting black suit behind thick, black-rimmed glasses.
“Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself — a genuine, modest and nice man,” Letterman said in a statement. “To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him.”
DeForest’s gnomish face was the first to greet viewers when Letterman’s NBC show debuted on Feb. 1, 1982, offering a parody of the prologue to the Boris Karloff film “Frankenstein.”
“It was the greatest thing that had happened in my life,” he once said of his first Letterman appearance.
For those of you who don’t remember Bud’s appearances on the Late Show, he essentially did what longtime character actor Abe Vigoda does for Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Namely, act like a fool by doing whatever the host asks him to do.
Bud was a great addition to Letterman’s late night comedy and his impish stature and unique-sounding voice made his antics that much funnier.
Calvert DeForest was a funny part of vintage late night comedy and we’ll miss you, Bud. You might not have left any survivors, but you left a mark on many viewers’ lives.
