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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 1990's. This lead 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 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. 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 sucker-punched Melendez.

As of 2006, Benza hosts the reality show Cold Turkey II on i: Independent Television as well as High Stakes Poker (along with Gabe Kaplan) on the GSN, which began its second season on June 5, 2006.

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

Bibilography

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