Comments on: We will miss you Calvert DeForest!

We will miss you Calvert DeForest!

UseyurBrain — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:06:43 -0800

Larry Bud Melman has Passed Away. Larry was there with David from the Beginning and continued to make appearances on the show through 2002. He was 85.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:08:19 -0800

. on a stick.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:08:30 -0800

Here is the FPP I was working on: Calvert DeForest, best known as Larry "Bud" Melman, passed away on March 19. Widely regarded as an extremely nice man, DeForest's appearances on Letterman's Shows brought a certain kind of odd humor to Letterman's show. Goodnight, Larry. I was also going to use the CNN Link in the title. Anyhow, as I said, Goodnight, Calvert.

By: DieHipsterDie

DieHipsterDie — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:08:34 -0800

He was still alive?

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:09:04 -0800

(I would have caught the double use of "Letterman's shows" eventually)

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:09:56 -0800

...+...

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:10:04 -0800

By: yeoz

yeoz — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:12:04 -0800

No funeral service? How sad. :( .

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:13:43 -0800

Aw. He played a kid (!) named Rusty on Pee Wee Herman too. .

By: phaedon

phaedon — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:15:15 -0800

As a child, I most definitely was not allowed to stay up and watch things like Letterman. Through the magic of Youtube, I get to revisit some old, "classic" episodes, here and there. Maybe the poor captures lend themselves to misinterpretation, but part of me can't believe that Letterman survived the business for this long. Kudos to him. There will be no funeral service for DeForest, who left no survivors. Man. .

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:21:16 -0800

Well... crap. .

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:21:57 -0800

Rest in peace, Calvert.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:22:00 -0800

That Los Angeles clip shent shivers down my shpine.

By: Mijo Bijo

Mijo Bijo — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:23:59 -0800

By: bru

bru — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:24:20 -0800

I remember the first appearances of "Larry" on Letterman. The show was so wacky and weird and new and "Larry" was so game with whatever Letterman threw his way. Good times, good times. So long, Calvert.

By: Ironmouth

Ironmouth — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:25:14 -0800

.......................................................................................................

By: jettloe

jettloe — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:25:34 -0800

By: LeeJay

LeeJay — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:28:22 -0800

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:34:13 -0800

By: every_one_needs_a_hug_sometimes

every_one_needs_a_hug_sometimes — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:34:36 -0800

By: potsmokinghippieoverlord

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:34:45 -0800

:( I saw him outside the Palace of Fine Arts when Letterman was doing his week of shows in San Francisco. He seemed frail but very friendly -- he was escorted by two lovely women. RIP, Bud!

By: psmealey

psmealey — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:35:07 -0800

Reason no. 674 to ride a Melman bus: all of our buses have windows. .

By: adipocere

adipocere — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:36:29 -0800

I will always remember that bit where he said he liked girls who were twelve or thirteen, with firm breasts. I laughed, my parents were shocked.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:36:38 -0800

I remember when Letterman switched networks, Calvert had to stop going by Larry Bud Melman because the name was intellectual property of NBC even though Letterman had made it up. That annoyed me. But I digress. R I P. Suckers!

By: therealshell

therealshell — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:41:14 -0800

Sleep well, Calvert.

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:44:47 -0800

Big time .

By: newfers

newfers — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:45:00 -0800

I've watched Letterman from the very beginning, give or take a short while during the CBS years. Calvert's persona represented perfectly Letterman's style of humor, and set the tone for the following 25 years. I've been watching a show for 25 years? Man, I feel old. Anyway, even though Calvert hadn't appeared on the show in 5 years, I'll miss him!

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:49:36 -0800

By the way... for those of you who don't know Larry Bud, I encourage you to watch the link on "R" in my last post. It's the classic "Larry gives away hot towels at the bus depot" skit.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:54:39 -0800

. Early Letterman was great, I watched pretty religiously during the those years on my 13" Panasonic. It may have something to do with my starting college around the time that he started so that I was able to stay up late enough to watch but the show seemed really daring and subversive.

By: brandz

brandz — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:55:15 -0800

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:04:23 -0800

DeForest rode in the Mardi Gras Bacchus parade one year as an honorary captain. This was back in 1994 or so. My girlfriend at the time, who was never starstruck, screamed when she saw his float approaching. "It's Larry Bud Melman!" she screamed, as she pulled up her shirt and flashed her breasts at him. It's important to note that this was the only time she had ever, ever flashed someone--in fact, she found the practice repellant. She never could explain why Calvert deserved a private showing, but I think I understand now.

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:04:31 -0800

Damn, but he made me laugh back in the day. What a great shtick. Never knew if he was really "in" on the gag/s, but each appearance sure was priceless. RIP, Larry/Calvert.

By: gcbv

gcbv — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:05:18 -0800

By: Cat Pie Hurts

Cat Pie Hurts — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:08:45 -0800

By: grahams

grahams — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:09:54 -0800

I not only remember him from Letterman, but also from introducing Nine Inch Nails at Woodstock '94. RIP, Larry...

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:16:22 -0800

By: Dr. Zira

Dr. Zira — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:17:25 -0800

By: buzzman

buzzman — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:20:06 -0800

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:21:56 -0800

By: aerotive

aerotive — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:22:08 -0800

By: potsmokinghippieoverlord

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:24:53 -0800

The Hollywood Reporter does mention that donations can be made in DeForest's name to the Actor's Fund.

By: cerebus19

cerebus19 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:29:35 -0800

By: dbiedny

dbiedny — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:32:55 -0800

So long, Mr. Calvert, and thanks for so many laughs.

By: Jay Reimenschneider

Jay Reimenschneider — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:33:37 -0800

part of me can't believe that Letterman survived the business for this long That's because he's been on autopilot since the CBS move, in my opinion. The Larry Bud, Fugitive Guy, velcro suit NBC years were superb. But he's just gone along with the homogenization of the genre- and he is a big part of why the talk show is a such a huge waste of time now.

By: owhydididoit

owhydididoit — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:35:34 -0800

By: numlok

numlok — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:37:56 -0800

By: Skygazer

Skygazer — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:45:41 -0800

How Sad. The early Letterman episodes were so quirky and hilarious. And an appearance by Calvert as Larry "Bud" Melman was the icing on the cake. Good bye Calvert. RIP. .

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:49:10 -0800

By: sfred

sfred — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:49:51 -0800

By: veggieboy

veggieboy — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:01:04 -0800

Yeah. . . I find myself mourning both Bud AND the former greatness of Letterman's show. .

By: fungible

fungible — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:01:12 -0800

By: mike3k

mike3k — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:02:57 -0800

By: adamgreenfield

adamgreenfield — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:03:09 -0800

. My abiding dislike for David Letterman ignited the moment I realized he knew full well Larry "Bud" wasn't in on the joke, and simply didn't care.

By: Slap Factory

Slap Factory — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:05:21 -0800

The one thing that nobody is reporting is that as time went on (especially post-9/11, which really made an impact on him), Calvert degenerated into batshit insanity. Nobody who was close to him could tell whether he was doing schtick or whether he was playing it straight. Compound those misunderstandings with the problem that all of his minders were hired help who got paid less than $9/hour or whatever, and we had a really bad situation. Toward the end, especially, there was not a lot of humor involved. May he rest in peace.

By: miss-lapin

miss-lapin — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:06:46 -0800

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:07:31 -0800

I'm sure there is a deliberate stage laugh it heaven. (I love it when life-long batchelors live long lives.)

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:08:36 -0800

IN heaven

By: winks007

winks007 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:16:08 -0800

By: jonp72

jonp72 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:30:04 -0800

Supposedly, when Letterman "discovered" Larry Bud Melman, he shouted "Bring me that nebbish! I must have that nebbish!" Perhaps that's what the Man Upstairs was saying when Larry died. .

By: zardoz

zardoz — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:57:05 -0800

Those old clips of Letterman show just how damn funny Late Night was...before the move to CBS. I used to watch it religiously. Then Letterman became an arrogant prick in love with that big audience's applause. It was much funnier when he would make a joke and the audience wouldn't laugh. There was lots of self-deprecating humor that doesn't exist on his current show. Sorry, Larry, end of rant. .

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:59:40 -0800

Oh boy, does this post need an img tag.

By: TonyRobots

TonyRobots — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:04:20 -0800

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:10:16 -0800

By: hominid211

hominid211 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 20:15:31 -0800

By: MarvinTheCat

MarvinTheCat — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:20:11 -0800

Larry was some of the first late-night TV I got to watch. Take care, buddy. .

By: psychoticreaction

psychoticreaction — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:26:53 -0800

was there any tribute to the great man on the show tonight?

By: UseyurBrain

UseyurBrain — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:33:51 -0800

I only watched a bit (10 minutes), but nothing in that short time.

By: any major dude

any major dude — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:38:45 -0800

He's the only one who could make Letterman laugh like a school girl.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:44:32 -0800

Tonights episode was previously taped. And I think the next 2 nights the show will be preempted.

By: 23skidoo

23skidoo — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:07:02 -0800

He's the only one who could make Letterman laugh like a school girl. Oh dear god, I have this distinct memory of some Larry Bud Melman skit where they sat him in front of the camera and he was reading some long dialogue. And when he gets to the line "the magical smell of men enjoying themselves", Letterman just loses it. It wasn't even the end of a line, so Larry keeps on reading, and Dave is just crying, and high pitched screaming, the works. It was awesome. He reminds me of being young, and staying up late, and watching television that was totally insane where anything could happen. I kind of miss that, and I am bummed to hear that he is dead.

By: bshort

bshort — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:08:25 -0800

By: wendell

wendell — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:11:21 -0800

. for Larry "Bud" . for Calvert . for the spirit of Early Letterman. And even though Dave's "knows he isn't in on the joke and doesn't care" attitude sometimes was cruel and/or creepy, the fact that Dave's 'victim' usually seemed to be enjoying it on HIS level and didn't care if he was in on the joke made it better. Maybe that's what he's lacking now - an honest 'innocent' to counter the cynicism.

By: smallerdemon

smallerdemon — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:22:26 -0800

Good sir, I hope you and Brother Theodore are somewhere having been and laughing about your days on Letterman.

By: smallerdemon

smallerdemon — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:23:21 -0800

*whoops* ...having beer and laughing. You'll be missed.

By: quarter waters and a bag of chips

quarter waters and a bag of chips — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:51:02 -0800

By: RavinDave

RavinDave — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 01:26:01 -0800

I recall the simple touches ... like when he interviewed people on the street and kept mixing up where to hold the mic (ie: he'd hold it on himself when the other guy was speaking and vice versa, so that you couldn't hear anything). I particularly recall the time Dave "walked off the show" and left Larry to fill in as host interviewing Jack Lalanne and his wife. And when they wheeled him out in that giant costume as "The Big Man".

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:04:40 -0800

. As Robert Fulghum said, "Laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

By: furtive

furtive — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:36:28 -0800

I'll miss his maniacal laugh. .

By: lobstah

lobstah — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:51:17 -0800

By: Skygazer

Skygazer — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 05:34:06 -0800

I'm trying to understand why he wouldn't have a funeral, and then it hit me, that in true Calvert/Melman style he probably didn't want anyone to inconvenience themselves too much with his death and all. Was Larry "Bud" Melman the Buddha walking amongst us and laughing maniacally (in all the wrong places). I must meditate on this further. *Assumes lotus position*

By: ruthsarian

ruthsarian — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 05:53:36 -0800

Easily my favorite person on Late Night. Handing out hot towels at the bus terminal had me laughing harder than I've ever laughed in my life. I don't care whether he was or was not in on the jokes, the guy's personality and apparent naivete was both sweet and funny which made for great television. It's good to see he lived a long life, but still sad that he's now gone.

By: octobersurprise

octobersurprise — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 06:57:45 -0800

I realized he knew full well Larry "Bud" wasn't in on the joke I find that very hard to believe. Obviously, DeForest wasn't a simpleton. Regardless of how similar he was to the character he played, how could he not have known that the nebbish-look was part of the joke? Next you'll be telling me that Dave's Mom wasn't in on the joke, either. Anyway. Some of my favorite Larry "Bud" moments are his reports from the '94 Winter Olympics with said Mom and the commercial he did for Honda Scooters.

By: doctorschlock

doctorschlock — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 06:58:56 -0800

Larry would have made the perfect crazy boss. RIP dude, I'll call in sick for you.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:01:10 -0800

I remember sitting down with friends a few years ago to watch the movie Freaked. In one scene an old man started haranguing a crowd. I turned to my friends and said, "Aw-- they should've gotten Larry 'Bud' Melman to play that guy." The movie then cut to... Larry 'Bud' Melman. Minds were blown that day. Thank you, Calvert. May you rest in peace.

By: schmedeman

schmedeman — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 07:49:22 -0800

I still can't hear Roy Orbison without picturing Larry dressed up as Orbison, lip-synching to a recording.

By: escabeche

escabeche — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:03:16 -0800

And when he gets to the line "the magical smell of men enjoying themselves", Letterman just loses it. Holy crow, this moment may have been the hardest I laughed at any time between the ages of 10 and 15. Please tell me it's on YouTube somewhere.

By: jeff-o-matic

jeff-o-matic — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:03:30 -0800

I was 11 when Late Night first came on TV. I even remember seeing some episodes of Dave's first morning show. I was a fan from 11 on through my 20s. I'm from Chicago, so the show was on at 11:30. Late, but early enough that I could get away with watching it from time to time and still get up for school. Every summer vacation I'd stay up and watch every episode, religiously. I love Larry "Bud" and the old days of the Letterman show. A huge part of my formative years. Sad to hear he's passed.

By: notclosed

notclosed — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:18:06 -0800

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:40:48 -0800

An excellent remebrance: The Last Amateur, by Ken Cancelosi.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:39:01 -0800

Horace, that was an excellent tribute. Thank you for linking it!

By: jeffkay

jeffkay — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:17:05 -0800

No survivors, except all of us. RIP Larry "Bud."

By: snsranch

snsranch — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:54:27 -0800

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:49:07 -0800

Horace, as I read on in the linked "tribute" I found it to be increasingly dismissive and even insulting to Calvert DeForest. (side note) I wsh my last name was DeForest.

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:52:29 -0800

here's your damn i .