Ned Wertimer

Ned Wertimer was an American actor best known for playing Ralph Hart, the doorman who always wanted a tip on The Jeffersons. Born in Buffalo, New York, he attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and performed with its Mask and Wig Club before moving to New York City for Broadway shows including Texas Li'l Darlin', The Live Wire, The Disenchanted, and All in Good Time. He also appeared often on The Shari Lewis Show. In the mid-1960s he moved to Los Angeles, where he built more than 100 guest-star credits on series including Gunsmoke, Hogan's Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, WKRP in Cincinnati, and Happy Days. His films included Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), C.C. & Company (1970), and The Pack (1977). He introduced the doorman Ralph Hart in an All in the Family episode from 1975 that became the pilot for The Jeffersons, and he played that role in 57 of the show's 253 episodes.