A. J. Benza

Infobox Person
name = Alfred Joseph 'A.J.' Benza

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image_size = 150px
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1962|06|02
birth_place = New York, New York
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Gossip columnist, Television host
spouse = Virginia Folk
parents =
children = Roxy

Alfred Joseph “A.J.” Benza (born June 2 1962) is a gossip columnist and television host. He was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, though he moved with his family to West Islip, New York on Long Island shortly after his birth. He has two sisters, Rosalie and Lorraine.

He is married to his second wife, Virginia Folk, and the couple have one child, a girl named Roxy.

Education

After graduating from West Islip High School in 1980, Benza majored in journalism at C.W. Post College on Long Island.

Career

During college he began writing for Newsday and was soon hired full-time as a gossip columnist for that paper and eventually for the New York Daily News. It was as a gossip columnist that he began appearing on E! Entertainment Television's "The Gossip Show" in the early 1990s. This led to appearances on "Geraldo", "Hard Copy", "Montel", "The Maury Povich Show", and various other television talk shows. He was later fired from the New York Daily News by editor Pete Hamill.

Soon after leaving the paper Benza was offered a job hosting a new show at E! entitled "Mysteries and Scandals", which necessitated a move to Los Angeles, California. It was on this show that Benza popularized the catchphrase "Fame, ain't it a bitch" which later became the title of his autobiography. The show ran for three seasons between 1998 and 2000.

In 2001, Benza had a short-lived late-night talk show, "A.J. After Hours", which did not garner favorable [http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2001/may01/may28/5_fri/news3friday.html reviews] .

Benza later appeared on the Howard Stern radio show, where he also sat-in as a replacement for Jackie Martling as did dozens of comedians and personalities. He was ultimately banned from the WXRK building for assaulting Stuttering John Melendez and accidentally punching Stern's Producer, Gary Dell'Abate during the altercation. The fight between the two began when a series of callers to the show made fun of Benza over the recent cancellation of his talk show. Benza claimed Melendez was only letting negative calls through and [http://72.3.226.13/news2001/july01/july23/3_wed/news7wednesday.html struck] Melendez and Dell'Abate in the face. After his eventual replacement Artie Lange was involved in a physical altercation and walked off the show, Benza jokingly asked Stern for a second chance. [http://marksfriggin.com/news08/4-21.htm]

As of 2006, Benza hosts the reality show "Cold Turkey II" on ION Television as well as "High Stakes Poker" (along with Gabe Kaplan) on the GSN, which began its fourth season on August 27, 2007.

Benza also had an acting role as L.C. Luco in the 2006 film "Rocky Balboa". He also is working on a second book which is tentatively titled "Star Trip".

Benza appeared on the sixth season of "Celebrity Fit Club" on VH1, where he lost 12 lbs.

In April 2008, Benza premiered his new You Tube video series called "The Real Guys Movie Review", with his writing partner, Neil Gumpel.

Bibliography

*"Fame, Ain't it a Bitch", Miramax Books: May 2, 2001. ISBN 0-7868-6753-1

External links

*imdb name | id=0073128 | name=A.J. Benza
* [http://blacktable.com/daulerio040923.htm Online interview at The Black Table]
* [http://www.eonline.com/Celebs/Star/Benza/ Q&A with fans from E!]