R.I.P. Calvert DeForest (aka Larry "Bud" Melman)

[Brad]

You were a funny old dude.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2...21.html#013139

http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/2...ering_a_l.html

[Brad]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4iwTSWeuRo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ7PMG8c2gI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biVvTCjgtEA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPSOapFKiZY

[theshark8777]

Remember when he was on Pee Wee's Playhouse!!

[TJL]

What a shame. He was truly one of the greats of Dave's ensemble.

I hope they do a nice tribute to him soon.

[Brad]

My favorite Calvert moment was when Dave moved from NBC to CBS. At the very beginning of the very first episode of The Late Show in 1993, all we saw was a black CBS eye with a white background. The eye opened up, and suddenly, we see saw Calvert inside saying, "This is CBS." The crowd went nuts.

[TJL]

Originally Posted by AKA

My favorite Calvert moment was when Dave moved from NBC to CBS. At the very beginning of the very first episode of The Late Show in 1993, all we saw was a black CBS eye with a white background. The eye opened up, and suddenly, we see saw Calvert inside saying, "This is CBS." The crowd went nuts.

I remember that. That was the perfect kickoff to Dave at CBS.

[theshark8777]

Originally Posted by AKA

My favorite Calvert moment was when Dave moved from NBC to CBS. At the very beginning of the very first episode of The Late Show in 1993, all we saw was a black CBS eye with a white background. The eye opened up, and suddenly, we see saw Calvert inside saying, "This is CBS." The crowd went nuts.

Haha yeah, I remember that!

[catlover79]

[Seth]

Just in case anyone's on the lookout, unless something has changed, the Letterman episodes for the rest of the week are already taped. As such, the obvious tribute will wind up being on Monday's show.

[Brad]

Yeah, apparently it was going to be yesterday, but since Dave fell ill and had to have Adam Sandler fill in for him, it looks like it'll be postponed until Monday. Tonight's episode was pre-taped a few days ago, and Thursday and Friday's episodes are going to be repeats.

[Ohio8]

I remember back in the 1990s when he did the three long-distance phone service ads on TV with David Spade.
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"Even to Seattle? Thanks, phone dude." -- Calvert DeForest

[Brian Damage]

Here's to the great Larry "Bud" Melman! A truly funny person!

[Brad]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070321/...rry_bud_melman

Letterman regular 'Bud' Melman dies

By Larry McShane
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - 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. The Brooklyn-born Calvert DeForest, who was 85, died Monday at a hospital on Long Island, the Letterman show announced Wednesday.

He made dozens of appearances on Letterman's shows from 1982 through 2002, handling a variety of twisted duties: dueting with Sonny Bono on "I Got You, Babe," doing a Mary Tyler Moore impression during a visit to Minneapolis, handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

"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."

The gnomish DeForest was the first face 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.

DeForest, given the nom de tube of Melman, became a program regular. The collaboration continued when the talk show host launched Late Show with David Letterman on CBS in 1993.

Cue cards were often DeForest's television kryptonite, and his character inevitably appeared in an ill-fitting black suit behind thick black-rimmed glasses.

The Melman character opened Letterman's first CBS show, too — but used his real name because of a dispute with NBC over "intellectual property." DeForest, positioned inside the network's familiar eye logo, announced, "This is CBS!"

DeForest often draw laughs by his bizarre juxtaposition as a Late Show correspondent at events such as the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway or the anniversary Woodstock concert that year.

His last appearance on Late Show came in 2002, celebrating his 81st birthday.

DeForest also appeared in an assortment of other television shows and films, including Nothing Lasts Forever with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

As per his request, there will be no funeral service for DeForest, who left no survivors. Donations can be made in his name to the Actors' Fund of America.

[Janice]

He was great. I used to watch Letterman faithfully back in the 80s and early 90s. To me, one of the reasons Calvert was so funny was because he gave off a vibe that he was serious, almost as if he didn't get the joke, but we know he did. I used to love when he'd get pissy with people. He'll be missed.

[Skywalker]

R.I.P. Calvert.