Over in the David Letterman newsgroup, Letterman authority Don "Donz" Giller has reported the death of character actor Calvert DeForest, who was a fixture of Dave's TV shows, first as Larry "Bud" Melman on the NBC show and later under his own name on CBS. According to Giller's posting, DeForest died Monday night from a heart attack after contracting pneumonia.
DeForest was born in 1921 and did not intend to have a career in show business. His mother was an actress and discouraged it, but he told interviewers he needed no discouragement in that area. He did, however, appear in a student film that caught the attention of Mr. Letterman. To his surprise, DeForest (who was then working in a Social Services office) received an offer to be part of a sketch on Dave's show and that led to regular appearances as the character, Larry "Bud" Melman. Dave and the writers especially loved putting DeForest into sketches and situations where the hapless actor had no idea what he was doing. DeForest read everything off cue cards and could almost always be counted on to pause or stand in all the wrong places. Once after he showed a tiny bit of on-camera professionalism, Dave reportedly remarked, "If he ever gets good, he'll be of no use to us."
When Letterman moved to CBS in 1993, his production company lost the legal rights to the name of Larry "Bud" so DeForest began appearing under his own name…but not often. Advanced age and frequent illness kept him from being on the show as often as Letterman and the producers might have liked. According to Giller, DeForest's last appearance was on the April 30, 2003 show where he was introduced as Saddam Hussein.
A tribute to DeForest had been planned for last night's show but Dave took ill with a stomach flu and missed the broadcast, which was hosted instead by Adam Sandler. Tonight's episode was taped on Monday night and the Thursday and Friday shows are both scheduled reruns. So one presumes Dave will be back next Monday and will say something then.
Our video link today is a clip of Larry "Bud" Melman on an early (1983) episode of Late Night With David Letterman. They sent DeForest to the Port Authority Bus Depot in New York to welcome arriving passengers, armed with nothing more than a microphone (which he didn't know how to use) and a supply of hot towels. Here's what ensued…
