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Updated Monday, March 28, 2011 9:30 pm TWN, By Barbara Munker, dpa



	In this undated photo, actor Ed Lauter, left, wishes Gregg Donovan, right, good luck in his efforts to keep his post as Beverly Hills Ambassador. (dpa) Enlarge Photo

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Down but not yet out: Beverly Hills' ambassador loses his job

BEVERLY HILLS, California--Beverly Hills is the most expensive place in California and it's the home of many stars and celebrities. It also attracts thousands of tourists every year, many of whom have met Gregg Donovan, Beverly Hills' former “ambassador.”

He has now lost his job.

Donovan stands on the world famous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills wearing a red frock coat and a black top hat. The 51-year-old does his best to smile as he greets visitors -- this time in almost perfect German.

“I can greet in a hundred languages, from Japanese to Arabic, you name it,” says the man known as the Beverly Hills' Ambassador.

For the past 11 years, Donovan's job has been to act as a kind of concierge for the Rodeo Drive shopping district, posing for photographs, giving advice, and guiding celebrities and tourists around the drive's shops; every day from 10 a.m., Tuesday to Saturday. But he has now been made redundant.

Beverly Hills' tourist agency let Donovan go in mid-January, “because of budget cuts,” he was told. The agency refused to respond to questions about “personnel issues” but news that the Beverly Hills Ambassador had been let go spread like wildfire and caused outrage in the process. Newspaper headlines that said affluent Beverly Hills could no longer afford its ambassador made a big impact.

Donovan is a well-known personality in the area.

Actor Ed Lauter (“Number 23”, “Seabiscuit”) patted him on the back after hearing the news and wished him luck.

“You are our man in Beverly Hills,” shouted Arnold Schwarzenegger's nephew Patrick Knapp as he passed Donovan by. The celebrity lawyer was on his way to a power lunch in “The Grill,” according to Donovan. A short time later comedian Martin Short walks past. The Ambassador is an acquaintance and they exchange smiles.

Donovan has a celebrity section on his Web page with photographs showing him with personalities like Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, Sylvester Stallone, Penelope Cruz and Sharon Stone.

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