Who

Ashman is a nightlife vet who used to run the Plumm on West 14th Street.

Backstory

A native Manhattanite, Ashman's been bouncing around the nightlife scene for years. A party promoter back when he was in high school and college, in the 1990s he opened hotspots Veruka and Studio 54. (Not that Studio 54, but the short-lived reincarnation that never really caught fire.) He later took over the 1980s fixture Nell's on West 14th Street, renaming it NA. After the club closed its doors in 2005 amid controversy (see below), Ashman reopened the space as the Plumm in 2006. A longtime celebrity hanger-on, Ashman has always sought out boldface names as partners in his various ventures. The Plumm was no exception: Ashman's investors supposedly included Chris Noth, Damon Dash, David Wells, and Mark Wahlberg. But even Ashman's celebrity pals couldn't prevent the club from closing its doors in April 2009.

Drama

NA's closing in 2005 was a messy one. Ashman's investors tried to force him out amid claims he'd been overspending and blowing their allotted weekly budget, and the case eventually resulted in lawsuits. Ashman's tendency to brag about his big name investors has also created a few legal headaches. Model Petra Nemcova (a former flame of Ashman's) sic-ed her legal eagles onto him, claiming he illegally used her name and image in marketing materials. And the closing of the Plumm in 2009 also turned into a messy situation. Ashman claimed he'd been unjustly evicted by the building's landlord, but a judge ultimately ruled against Ashman.

On screen

It seems Ashman doesn't just want to surround himself with celebs—he wants to be one. He's produced four films, including Mind the Gap and Never Again, both of which he had small parts in. He also made a brief cameo on VH1's My Coolest Years in 2004 to reminisce about, well, his coolest years.

Personal

The unmarried club-owner and serial modelizer lives on East 80th Street.

No joke

Ashman claims he once kept his mother waiting for 45 minutes at the door of his club until he could "personally verify her identity."