I am deeply saddened by the news of Larry “Bud” Melman‘s death. As a big fan of David Letterman‘s old “Late Night” show, I watched Larry Bud from the beginning. He came to symbolize Letterman’s cutting-edge, iconoclastic talk show, which paved the way for Conan O’Brien and Jon Stewart. You never knew if the odd, little man was acting or for real. Often, in the middle of an appearance, Melman would suddenly fall silent and look confused — which, of course, made the bit even more funny. He was truly bizarre and that’s why we loved him.

Larry “Bud” Melman was born Calvert DeForest in Brooklyn, New York. After appearing in a studen film, Letterman discovered the actor, gave him his stage name, and put him on the first episode of “Late Night.” Besides numerous Letterman appearances, he appeared in commercials, a Run-DMC video, and movies, including the Andrew McCarthy coming-of-age-tale “Heaven Help Us.” His last Letterman appearance was in 2002. Calvert DeForest died Monday in Babylon, Long Island. He was 85.