With a role in a new comedy series being launched by Sony Pictures Television, a spot in an upcoming Columbia Pictures feature film and his own Comedy Central special scheduled to debut later this year, Oswego native Owen Benjamin has arrived as one of Hollywood’s hottest new comedic acts.

Benjamin, who has already appeared nationally on MTV’s Punk’d and performed as an opening act for such renowned talents as Nick Swardson, Anthony Clark (Yes, Dear, Last Comic Standing) and Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon, appears to be on the verge of breaking out as a star on the national level.

Benjamin’s “Gaytown,” is set to air on Sony Pictures Television C-SPOT, an innovative, multi-platform, comedy channel that will be specifically produced for the Web and mobile devices. C-SPOT plans to feature original comedy series with continuing storylines throughout the entire year. C-SPOT will be viewable on YouTube, AOL Video, Crackle.com, Hulu, Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Video service and direct to Sony BRAVIA TVs via BRAVIA Internet Video Link.

“Gaytown,” written by, produced  by and staring by Benjamin was recently described in the Los Angeles Times as “a surprisingly fertile premise that Benjamin uses to point out all the little injustices gays face in the real world, except in reverse.” The premise of the new series centers around Benjamin’s character, a straight man living in Gaytown, on a quest to work up the courage to “come out of the closet” and proclaim his heterosexuality to his fake male companion, the woman that he secretly has fallen in love with and his father, who is described as “the rhinestone king” of Gaytown. In Benjamin’s fictional home of Gaytown, men wear fannypacks and dress their dogs in designer sweaters, women drive trucks and pour concrete and gay police officers love cheddar cheese. It was also noted in the Times that Gaytown is “ a model of the kind of uber-control creators of Web series can enjoy.”

Audiences this summer will be able to see Benjamin make his big screen debut in the Columbia Pictures release “The House Bunny.” The film comes from Adam Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison, and stars Anna Farris (“Scary Movie” 1-4, “Brokeback Mountain”) and Collin Hanks (“Orange County,” “King Kong”). Benjamin will appear alongside Katharine McPhee, the runner up on the fifth season of the FOX smash hit show American Idol in 2006, Beverly D’Angelo from National Lampoon’s Vacation movies and Playboy icon Hugh Hefner. The film is set for an August 22 release. House Bunny’s trailer, featuring a scene with Benjamin and Farris, is on the Web.

While working on his own special for Comedy Central which will be released later this year, Benjamin continues to ply his trade on the road, performing his wildly popular stand-up act in comedy clubs, theaters and on college campuses across the nation. He is tentatively scheduled to return home, Nov. 24, for a rare performance at SUNY Oswego. Benjamin was also a featured performer at the 2007 HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen, Colo., and ranks among the top 10 comedians on MySpace.

In between his road performances, Benjamin is featured in the much sought-after late night Saturday show at the famous Hollywood Improv. This slot has been one of the most prestigious in the comedy industry since the stand-up boom in the mid to late ‘70s, when the slot was occupied by unique comedy stylings of the late Andy Kaufman.

The Improv stage has been performed on by that who’s who of comedy, including Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, David Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno and countless others who went on to epic careers in the field of comedy.

Benjamin is a graduate of Oswego High School and went on to SUNY-Plattsburgh, where he got his start in television, working for the student station there. He is the son of Drs. Jean Troy-Smith and John Kares Smith of West Sixth Street in Oswego.