Calvert DeForest (July 23, 1921 - March 19, 2007), also known by his character Larry "Bud" Melman, was an American actor and comedian, best known for his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman.
Little has been published about his early life. He was born to Calvert DeForest, M.D., a physician who died in 1949, and Mabelle Taylor. He attended Poly Preparatory Country Day School in Brooklyn. He worked for many years for the large pharmaceutical company Parke Davis, which was later acquired by Pfizer. He had aspirations of acting but was discouraged by his mother, herself an actress briefly. After her death in 1961, DeForest did some part time backstage work which eventually led to some acting work.
He is credited with four films from 1972 to 1982 and, after his first appearance with David Letterman, appeared in fifteen other films or television shows.[1] While he was working as a file clerk at a drug rehabilitation facility, he was "discovered" by Stephen Winer and Karl Tiedemann, writers for Letterman's show, when he appeared in their New York University student film, KING of the Zs.[2] Later he worked as a drug rehabilitation counselor. However, his job was mentioned on air and he said it made it more difficult for him to work effectively as a counselor, forcing his retirement. However, he continued to make appearances with Letterman. One of DeForest's "advertisements" on Late Night was "Toast on a Stick".
The Associated Press noted: "DeForest's gnomish face was the first to greet viewers when Letterman's NBC show debuted on February 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."[3]
The Melman character also opened Letterman's first CBS show under his own name, but as essentially the same character, when Letterman moved from NBC to CBS in 1993. The name change was made because the character of "Larry 'Bud' Melman" was considered the intellectual property of NBC, even though David Letterman gave him the name. He continued to appear on Letterman's show until his 81st birthday in 2002 before retiring from acting. DeForest often "drew laughs by his bizarre juxtaposition as a Late Show correspondent at events such as the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway and the Woodstock anniversary concert that year."[3]
DeForest also appeared on the hit album Americana by The Offspring, doing some of the voices that can be heard before and after certain tracks on the album begin playing. In late March 2007, The Offspring posted a 10-minute clip of DeForest recording the voices for their album, which can be found on their official website.
Letterman noted: "Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself: a genuine, modest and nice man."[2]"To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him." [4] When asked how he'd like to be remembered, DeForest responded "Just being able to make people laugh and knowing people enjoyed my humor. I also hope I haven't offended anyone through the years." [5]
DeForest died at a hospital in West Islip, New York, on Long Island, on March 19, 2007.[6] As per his request, there will be no funeral services held.[2]
