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| Letterman Regular Gone, but Not Forgotten; ... RIP Larry 'Bud' Melman | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 22 2007, 03:14 PM (116 Views) | |
| Deleted User | Mar 22 2007, 03:14 PM Post #1 |
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Letterman Regular 'Bud' Melman Dies Mar 21, 7:58 PM EST Original Article 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 working as a file clerk at a drug rehabilitation center when show producers, who had seen him in a New York University student's film, came calling. His 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 1994. 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. |
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| Deleted User | Mar 22 2007, 03:20 PM Post #2 |
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I was a fan of the early years of the David Letterman show ... so I thought there might be others out there that also were familiar with the topic. I'd watch Letterman after the Tonight Show (when Johnny was still at the helm) and then catch whatever late, late night movies might be on ... this was while I was still in high school, and of course it would affect my ability or willingness to actually wake up in the morning (but it was a tradeoff that I was willing to contend with). At any rate ... I've good memories of Larry "Bud" Melman ... so RIP and thanks for the laughs too Mr. DeForest. Episode #1 of David Letterman Handing out Hot Towels at the Port Authority In a Bear Suit (Looking for Change) Alright due to not wanting to upset the sensibilities of some of the membership, let's just leave it at the two clips that I originally posted. Just strolling down memory lane with all this ... maybe midwestern humor won't be appreciated by an international audience. |
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| Deleted User | Mar 22 2007, 09:29 PM Post #3 |
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Larry "Bud" Melman rest in peace. by the way I would'nt mind seeing more of Mr Deforests finer moments so I went to youtube and laughed my ass off.
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| scottycatt | Mar 22 2007, 09:32 PM Post #4 |
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I've really missed him these last few years. He sure provided me with lots of laughs over the years and I'm sorry to know that he's passed on. RIP, "Bud".
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| Merry | Mar 22 2007, 09:35 PM Post #5 |
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Because of my erratic work schedule over the years, I hadn't been able to keep up with Letterman's show as much as I'd like to, but I DO remember Bud and his contribution to the show, and he will truly be missed. He was quite a quirky little character...perfect as a foil for Letterman's brand of humor. May he rest in peace. Merry |
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| lemchast | Mar 22 2007, 10:23 PM Post #6 |
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May he R.I.P.
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| Beatlesaholic | Mar 23 2007, 12:08 AM Post #7 |
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Me At Thanksgiving On November 24, 2011.
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RIP Mr. Bud! |
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Paul John George Ringo Are My Favorite Beatles! The Beatles Rule!!!!! Beatles Biggest Fan Kirsten Julian Lennon Biggest Fan RIP John Lennon RIP George Harrison RIP Maurice Gibb RIP Andy Gibb RIP Michael Jackson RIP Grandpa Nick RIP Grandma Tess My Favorite Beatles Movie And Album Is A Hard Day's Night & My Favorite Paul McCartney Album Is Good Evening New York City! Gold Strawberry: BeatlesBiggestFan (16 votes) ![]() | |
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| Deleted User | Mar 23 2007, 02:00 AM Post #8 |
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Yeah I did that too Tony ... didn't get into work until sometime after 10 because I found myself really a little too amused by the clips that were out there on youtube with Larry "Bud" Melman featured. 'Twas my little morning tribute to him ... man I enjoyed that guy on that show. I'm glad that some of you enjoyed the clips, he always seemed such the sweet guy completely out of his element in the first season. I thought that they found him in a bookstore or something, but I guess the article says that he'd been in some college film that one of the interns had seen. At any rate I wished that I could find the clips of him at Woodstock '99 and the one's from him at the '94 Olympics ... they flew him out to Norway to cover that with Dave's mom. Man I really did like those early year's of the Letterman show ... I'm glad that they haven't pulled the clips from his NBC shows that are out there. Once again RIP Larry "Bud" Melman, thinking you brought a good deal of merriment to some folks' life ... and that's a good thing. |
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