BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhuanet) -- His was the first face viewers saw when the "David Letterman Show" debutedFeb. 1, 1982 on NBC. Monday, Brooklyn-born Calvert DeForest -- known affectionately as the oddball Larry "Bud" Melman on the late-night TV show,died at age 85.

DeForest's death at a Long Island hospital after a long illnesswas announced Wednesday on Letterman's show. His initial appearance was a parody of the prologue to the Boris Karlof film "Frankenstin."

But he made dozens of appearances from 1982 to through 2002 in a variety of roles from a duet with Sonny Bono performing "I Got You, Babe" to handing out hot towels to arrivals at the Port Authority Bus Terminal to a Mary Tyler Moorespoof during a visit to Minneapolis.

"Everyone always wondered if Calvert was an actor playing a character, but in reality he was just himself -- a genuine, modest and nice man," Letterman said in a statement. "To our staff and to our viewers, he was a beloved and valued part of our show, and we will miss him."

DeForest was working as a file clerk at a drug-rehabilitation center when show producers, who had seen him in a New York University student's film, came calling.

"It was the greatest thing that had happened in my life," he once said of his first Letterman appearance.

DeForest, given the nom de tube of Melman, became a program regular. The collaboration continued when the talk show host launched the "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS in 1994.

Cue cards were often DeForest's downfall, and his character inevitably appeared in an ill-fitting black suit behind thick black-rimmed glasses.

The Melman character opened Letterman's first CBS show too -- but used his real name because of a dispute with NBC over "intellectual property." DeForest, positioned inside the network's familiar eye logo, announced, "This is CBS!"

DeForest often drew laughs by his bizarre juxtaposition as a "Late Show" correspondent at events such as the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway or the anniversary Woodstock concert that year.

His last appearance on "Late Show" came in 2002, celebrating his 81st birthday.

DeForest also appeared in an assortment of other television shows and films, including "Nothing Lasts Forever" with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

As per his request, there will be no funeral service for DeForest, who left no survivors. Donations can be made in his name to the Actors’Fund of America.

(Agencies)