Doorman

Police arrested two men on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a doorman was shot in the leg during a scuffle at Kiss The Club in the 2200 block of Newport Boulevard early Wednesday, police said. Tong Thanh Lam, 26, of Signal Hill and Tran Khon Tran, 20, of Huntington Beach were arrested at 1 a.m. after battling doormen at the club with bottles and chairs when they were told to leave for creating a disturbance, Lt. Cliff McBride said.

Ned Wertimer, 89, an actor who played Ralph the doorman on all 11 seasons of the CBS sitcom "The Jeffersons," died Jan. 2 at a Valley Village nursing home of complications from a fall at his Burbank home in November, said his manager, Brad Lemack. Wertimer had dozens of guest-starring roles on TV series from the early 1960s through the late 1980s, including "McMillan and Wife," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "I Dream of Jeannie. " But he was best known as Ralph Hart, the uniformed, mustachioed doorman at the luxury apartment building on "The Jeffersons," the "All In the Family" spinoff that ran from 1975 to 1985.

HOT Custom milliner-made hats Andrew Garfield's table Secret entrances CC Skye paparazzi bangles NOT Off-the-rack hats Emile Hirsch's table Secret code words for the doorman Silly Bandz matt.donnelly@latimes.com

HOT Custom milliner-made hats Andrew Garfield's table Secret entrances CC Skye paparazzi bangles NOT Off-the-rack hats Emile Hirsch's table Secret code words for the doorman Silly Bandz matt.donnelly@latimes.com

Hundreds flocked to the Plaza Hotel for the landmark's reopening after a three-year, $400-million renovation. "They say this place is the world's most famous hotel," said doorman Freddy Davila, who worked for the hotel for 15 years until it closed in 2005. "It's wonderful to be back," he said as he welcomed visitors up the red-carpeted steps. The Plaza, which overlooks Central Park, opened in 1907.

Louis R. Plante, an actor who's never, ever uninteresting (his work in "The Shoemakers" was one of the great performances of the '80s), does all he can to make Tim Brandoff's "Lobby" interesting. But at the Burbage Theatre, under Ivan Spiegel's direction, watching Plante hustle around the stage is like seeing a host trying to revive a dying party.

Cabdrivers line the sidewalks outside a downtown Los Angeles hotel. A few play cards in the back seat of a taxi. Others read the newspaper. But all ears are on the hotel doorman, who blows a whistle when business is near. Driver Chris Harvey is next in line for a customer. He pulls up, ready to load his passengers. But first he hands the doorman a $5 bill. Don't forget to tip the doorman, Harvey said, "or you can kiss the rest of your day's business goodbye."

Ned Wertimer, 89, an actor who played Ralph the doorman on all 11 seasons of the CBS sitcom "The Jeffersons," died Jan. 2 at a Valley Village nursing home of complications from a fall at his Burbank home in November, said his manager, Brad Lemack. Wertimer had dozens of guest-starring roles on TV series from the early 1960s through the late 1980s, including "McMillan and Wife," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "I Dream of Jeannie. " But he was best known as Ralph Hart, the uniformed, mustachioed doorman at the luxury apartment building on "The Jeffersons," the "All In the Family" spinoff that ran from 1975 to 1985.

They called Ray Post the Mayor of Spring Street because he knew everyone around and kept a sense of order in the area just south of 6th, where order isn't always easy to keep. As doorman to a residential building called Premiere Towers, Post chased away junkies, asked winos to move on and sometimes gave homeless people a couple of bucks to get something to eat. Bums called him "Mr.

Man, I hit 17 clubs in seven days. Let's just say, I started off in platforms and ended up in platform slippers, which suited the Beauty Bar just fine. On Sunday's new Ultrasheen night, hip-hop deejay Evil E had me dancing the funky chicken till my funk frotheth over. Oh yeah, we need the funk. . . . Oh, and the Beauty Bar boys are opening a new bar on Hollywood Boulevard in early summer, and all I can say is: It's tailored for this town. . . .

No wonder "Tired of Kissing Frogs" was big box office in Mexico. It's a delightful romantic comedy, traditional in form but contemporary in feeling. It has a great look, a scintillating cast and a bouncy pace. Its talented star, Ana Serradilla, her distinctive supporting players and her shrewd director, Jorge Colon, and his clutch of writers can catch a viewer by surprise with the film's deft finish. Suspense builds as to whether Serradilla's Martha will lose her chance at true love by a mix of shortsighted attitudes, misunderstandings and just plain bad luck.

Hundreds flocked to the Plaza Hotel for the landmark's reopening after a three-year, $400-million renovation. "They say this place is the world's most famous hotel," said doorman Freddy Davila, who worked for the hotel for 15 years until it closed in 2005. "It's wonderful to be back," he said as he welcomed visitors up the red-carpeted steps. The Plaza, which overlooks Central Park, opened in 1907.

Cabdrivers line the sidewalks outside a downtown Los Angeles hotel. A few play cards in the back seat of a taxi. Others read the newspaper. But all ears are on the hotel doorman, who blows a whistle when business is near. Driver Chris Harvey is next in line for a customer. He pulls up, ready to load his passengers. But first he hands the doorman a $5 bill. Don't forget to tip the doorman, Harvey said, "or you can kiss the rest of your day's business goodbye."

IN a business populated by whack-a-mole operators, Andrew Brin has stood steady as a totem at the thresholds of L.A.'s "It" clubs and parties (Guy's, Spider Club, Monday nights at Les Deux, Tropicana Bar) for the better part of a decade now. He is the gentle Charon of the night, list in hand, chary smile on his face. Now he's being rewarded for his patience.

"Tarnation," an official selection of the 2004 Cannes Director's Fortnight, a sidebar of sorts to the Cannes film festival, is Jonathan Caouette's documentary self-portrait chronicling his chaotic upbringing in a dysfunctional Texas family and the unexpected relationship that develops with his mentally ill mother, Renee. "Tarnation" was screened at the Sundance Film Festival this year, where it inspired a great deal of buzz and, eventually, a distribution deal for the 31-year-old filmmaker.

New York has its doormen, ready to assist city dwellers at a moment's notice. Downtown L.A. has its concierges. Though they don't wear the bulky overcoats, funky hats and white gloves that doormen do -- besides, in L.A., who would really want to? -- and the job description differs somewhat, the basic concept is the same: Concierges put a friendly, familiar face among the sometimes mean streets surrounding a high-rise apartment or loft. Want to get from downtown L.A. to the beach without a car?

No wonder "Tired of Kissing Frogs" was big box office in Mexico. It's a delightful romantic comedy, traditional in form but contemporary in feeling. It has a great look, a scintillating cast and a bouncy pace. Its talented star, Ana Serradilla, her distinctive supporting players and her shrewd director, Jorge Colon, and his clutch of writers can catch a viewer by surprise with the film's deft finish. Suspense builds as to whether Serradilla's Martha will lose her chance at true love by a mix of shortsighted attitudes, misunderstandings and just plain bad luck.

The doorman cannot contain his excitement. Reading through the New York Post, he has found one of his tenants mentioned in a gossip column. "Oh, Mr. Ellis!" the doorman calls out to a chubby-cheeked young man who looks like a worn-out altar boy in his navy blazer and conservative tie. "You're in the papers again!" Bret Easton Ellis looks slightly embarrassed and breaks out in a nervous blush.

Keith Rosary has seen how low people will go to try to get into a club. And it's not pretty. Rosary, who started working in clubs 20 years ago when he was 18, has seen the hopeful give away jewelry, throw punches and even file suit to get in. "Wearing a press pass from 1942, coming up, saying, 'Press,' " he said. Calling from "Steven Spielberg's office" to get on the guest list; yes, he's heard that one a few times. "But then when you ask them for a business card, they won't have one."

Man, I hit 17 clubs in seven days. Let's just say, I started off in platforms and ended up in platform slippers, which suited the Beauty Bar just fine. On Sunday's new Ultrasheen night, hip-hop deejay Evil E had me dancing the funky chicken till my funk frotheth over. Oh yeah, we need the funk. . . . Oh, and the Beauty Bar boys are opening a new bar on Hollywood Boulevard in early summer, and all I can say is: It's tailored for this town. . . .