Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Calvert DeForest (aka: Larry "Bud" Melman)has passed away

This is topic Calvert DeForest (aka: Larry "Bud" Melman)has passed away in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 03-22-2007, 02:36 PM:

David Letterman's former side-kick on his NBC show has passed away after a long illness in New York. He was 85.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-22-2007, 03:40 PM:

Some of the funniest stuff Letterman ever did was with Larry "Bud" Melman. And I could never figure out if DeForest was in on the joke. Hopefully Letterman will note DeForest's passing and acknowledge the impact Larry "Bud" Melman had with viewers.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-22-2007, 04:50 PM:

He was hilarious. As Letterman said, he was just a guy who couldn't read cue cards very well, and they exploited that "talent" brilliantly.

Letterman had taped the Wednesday night show before DeForest passed, and he's off tonight and tomorrow due to March Madness, so maybe he'll do a tribute on Monday.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 03-22-2007, 05:47 PM:

I really liked the Letterman show back then. Larry "Bud" Melman was one of the stable of characters that made that show great. Too bad Letterman sux soooo much now.

RIP Bud!

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-22-2007, 06:10 PM:

Somehow I just have this image in my head of Larry "Bud" Melman's spirit waving down at us saying, "so long, suckers!! Ha ha ha!"

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-22-2007, 06:19 PM:

What a lovable ol' guy.

I find I have two indirect ties to "Larry Bud"...

The IMDB lists him as a player in "While the Cat's Away" (1972). That was a soft porn film I am well familiar with. Our business agent in Lexington, KY got arrested for showing that one.

Also, I know a guy who toured with DeForest on the nightclub circuit back in the 80s.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-22-2007, 06:35 PM:

Tribute posted on Letterman's CBS web page:

David Letterman On The Death of Calvert DeForest

"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself - a genuine, modest and nice man," said Letterman. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him."

DeForest passed away on Monday, March 19 at age 85. His debut on "Late Night," as Larry Bud Melman, came in 1982, and was followed by dozens of appearances as various characters on the NBC show and on the LATE SHOW, which Letterman has hosted on CBS since 1993.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-26-2007, 08:14 PM:

Here's a list of some of the stuff DeForest did for the Late Night show, courtesy of the Letterman newsletter this week.

Calvert DeForest, who passed away last week, appeared over 250 times on LATE NIGHT. Among the characters he portrayed on the show were Larry "Bud" Melman, Larry "Bud" Fortensky, Larry "Bud" Headroom, Larry "Bud" Hussein, Larry "Bud" Schwarzkopf, George Patton, Kenny the Gardener, Leroy Neiman, Ranger Larry, Road Warrior, and Roy Orbison.

He impersonated Cher, Pete Rose, and Ronald Reagan.

He handled live remotes at the Port Authority of New York, the Empire State Building, the Essex House, Times Square, an ATM machine outside a Chemical Bank at 34th and 5th, the Staten Island Ferry, outside the U.N. Soviet Mission, outside his American Goodwill Tour trailer, in a rowboat at the Central Park lake, at the 6th Ave Thanksgiving Parade route, in a cab going around the block (to determine the number of laps it would take within the show's hour), on 6th Ave. to choose Mr. Christmas, at the 1992 Democratic National Convention, the 1992 Republican National Convention, and the 1993 Inauguration in Washington, D.C.

He presented one Top Ten list 20 years ago to the month, on April 15, 1987: "Top Ten Things People Say When They Meet Larry 'Bud' Melman."

His great uncle, Lee DeForest, invented the 3-element vaccum tube, an integral ingredient into the creation of the very medium that made "Larry 'Bud' Melman" a household name -- television.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-27-2007, 09:22 AM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
His great uncle, Lee DeForest

OMG! Every time I saw the name, I'd think "Lee DeForest". What a surprise to know they were related! Thanks for that info, Mike. [Smile]