Why did Bob Dylan appear in a Victoria's Secret commercial in 2004?

Because he wanted to be just like Late Night With David Letterman regular Larry "Bud" Melman.

"He mentioned he always saw Larry [walk on] with those gorgeous models," Letterman's longtime bandleader, Paul Shaffer, told Chicago Sun-Times reporter Dave Hoekstra in November 2009 while promoting his memoir, We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives, cowritten with David Ritz. "Dylan said, 'Why is he with those chicks?'"

Two decades after first appearing on NBC's Late Night—Dylan also performed on the penultimate episode of Letterman's next venture, CBS's Late Show, in May 2015—the singer-songwriter was given the chance to emulate his hero. Well, almost—Adriana Lima is the only model, gorgeous or otherwise, who shows up in Dylan's ad for Victoria's Secret.

There are legends, and then there are legends. Advantage: Larry "Bud" Melman.

He was a funny man, and he'll be missed.

Calvert DeForest, a.k.a. Larry "Bud" Melman on Late Night With David Letterman from 1982 to 1993, died last Monday at the age of 85. I have fond memories of watching Late Night anniversary specials, which were often broadcast in prime time (I wasn't allowed to stay up till 12:30 to see Late Night "live," but sometimes my brother and I would tape the show and watch it the next day), and seeing DeForest's various appearances on the show. I never got the feeling he wasn't in on the joke.

Below is a clip from November 16, 1983, of DeForest handing out hot towels to passengers arriving at the Port Authority bus depot in New York City. The man knew how to wield a microphone.

"Welcome to New York, sometimes called Fun City. HAHAHA!!!!"