Gossip columnist and TV host Alfred Joseph “A.J.” Benza was born on June 2, 1962 in Benson Hurst, Brooklyn. He has two sisters namely Rosalie and Lorraine. He was still an infant when the family moved to West Islip, New York. In 1980, he graduated from West Islip High School. He took up journalism at the C.W. Post College located in Brookville. During his younger days, A.J. formed a band called Fred Can Wait. Through the band, he explored his talent in playing the harmonica.
He was still a college student when he started writing for Newsday. His articles then were about high school sports. During weekends, he also part-timed as a bouncer at Illusions, a club in Mahwah, New Jersey. The editors of the newspaper eventually hired him as a full-time gossip columnist. His assignments then were covering. Shortly thereafter,
A.J. Benza also wrote for New York Daily News.
In the early ‘90s, he was a gossip reporter on The Gossip Show, which aired on E! Entertainment Television. He also worked for Geraldo, Hard Copy, Montel and The Maury Povich Show. In 1998, he moved to Los Angeles California and hosted Mysteries and Scandals.
His late night talk show called A.J. After Hours was cut short after receiving not-so-good reviews. In 2006, he hosted ION Television's reality show Cold Turkey II and co-hosted GSN's High Stakes Poker alongside poker commentator Gabe Kaplan.
He was cast as L.C. Luco in Rocky Balboa. His other film appearances are in Risqué, The Deli, Chump Change, Ransom and P.S. Your Cat is Dead!
On television, he was seen on shows
Numb3rs and
Passions .
He is married to second wife Virginia Folk and has a daughter named Roxy.
A.J. Benza is one of the new participants on VH1's reality TV series
Celebrity Fit Club : Boot Camp. The show divides the eight contestants into two groups, and the teams are given several physical challenges every week. Cast members are also weighed regularly to see if they achieved their target goal weights. A team composed of a nutritionist, a psychologist and a physical trainer oversees the participants.
(Photo courtesy of VH1)