Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Calvert DeForest 1921-2007

This news hurts...Calvert DeForest, aka Larry 'Bud' Melman, has passed
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 where that television show was set, handing out hot towels to arrivals at New York's 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."


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1 comment:

chutry said...

Definitely sad news. I grew up watching Letterman, and I'd argue that my critical eye toward media was honed by Letterman's show, and DeForest was a big part of that.