Калверт Дефорест: «Ларри Бад Мелман» өмірі мен мансабы

American comedian; also known as Larry "Bud" Melman

Calvert Grant DeForest (July 23, 1921 – March 19, 2007), also known by his character name Larry "Bud" Melman, was an American actor and comedian, best known for his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Late Show with David Letterman. He was the great nephew of inventor Lee de Forest.

DeForest grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He was born to Calvert Martin DeForest, M. D., a physician who died in 1930 at the age of 49, and Mabelle (Taylor) DeForest. His father was a cousin of radio pioneer Lee de Forest. DeForest attended Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, New York. He was employed for many years as a file clerk at the pharmaceutical company Parke Davis, which was later acquired by Pfizer. He had aspirations of acting but was discouraged by his mother, who was briefly an actress herself. After her death in 1969, DeForest did part time backstage work, which eventually led to acting work, and is credited with appearing in five films from 1972 to 1982. He worked part time as a receptionist at a drug rehabilitation center until February 1984, when his supervisor learned of his employment with NBC and his resulting ineligibility for the position (as it was part of a program designed for those who made under $6,000 a year) and asked him to resign.

In early 1982, DeForest was hired to appear on the new NBC program Late Night with David Letterman. His late blossoming television career began with a New York University student film project called King of the Zs, by future Letterman writers Stephen Winer and Karl Tiedemann, who brought him along when they joined the Late Night writing staff. On Late Night, DeForest played the role of Larry "Bud" Melman. Late Night talent coordinator Sandra Furton described him as a "mascot", but Melman had no real fixed or defined role on the show. He was simply an older, short, portly man with thick black framed glasses who was seen relatively frequently, especially in the early years. In the first few years of the show, the Melman character was somewhat of an entrepreneur, appearing in ads for "Melman Bus Lines" as well as for "Mr. Larry's Toast On A Stick" ("Bread's answer to the Popsicle!"). He was also ostensibly the producer of the show as the head of "Melman Productions", although this facet of the character was soon dropped. The character's teenage son, Troy "Chipper" Melman (who rarely spoke, and usually just coughed uncontrollably) was seen occasionally alongside his father in various ads. Outside the pre taped ads, Melman would sometimes be given odd chores to perform by Letterman, such as handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. At other times, Melman would give pre scripted answers to unlikely audience questions, or appear unexpectedly to heckle Letterman or the audience. Melman also appeared numerous times as "Kenny The Gardener," offering dubious gardening advice to home viewers, followed by a song performed in a tuneless but enthusiastic style. Occasionally, Melman would just simply wander onto the stage during Letterman's monologue as if lost, then leave without saying anything. A hallmark of the Melman character was his seemingly genuine lack of acting polish. Melman's scripted lines were clearly read from cue cards and usually delivered in a forceful shout—but when Letterman or others forced "Melman" into ad libbing, the actor's naturally more soft spoken and polite demeanor came to the forefront. Melman routinely flubbed or mangled lines, but gamely persevered with whatever sketch he was in. He was also noted for his remote interviews in which he would ask the interviewee a question, but pitch the microphone to the interviewee too quickly, resulting in the last part of the question being inaudible to Dave and the audience. As a result of his frequent appearances, he became hugely popular with fans of Late Night, often being greeted with loud cheers and applause before even speaking. When Letterman moved from NBC to CBS in 1993, the Melman name was retired, as NBC insisted that the character of "Larry 'Bud' Melman" was their intellectual property. However, starting from the first edition of Late Show with David Letterman, DeForest continued to play exactly the same character he had played on Late Night, now simply using his real name. 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."

After years of poor health, DeForest died at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, New York, on Long Island, on March 19, 2007. Per his request, no funeral services were held; he was cremated and his remains were interred at Pinelawn Cemetery, Farmingdale, New York. By all press accounts, he left no surviving relatives.