The campy columnist for the Village Voice has been making friends and enemies with his "La Dolce Musto" column for nearly 25 years now.

Raised in Bensonhurst, Musto says he was extraordinarily shy as a kid and spent his days watching movies, writing little reviews on index cards "as a cathartic way of expressing myself because I didn't talk." After attending Columbia (and freelancing for the now-defunct Soho Weekly News, Musto landed a job at the Village Voice thanks to then-arts editor Karen Durbin. He started writing his nightlife column soon after, and has been entertaining readers with his blend of trash-talk, celebrity gossip and stream-of-consciousness witticism ever since.

Nearly three decades after starting out, the downtown icon continues to attend nightly parties, premieres, and openings. Over the years, he's generated a bit of drama for outing various celebrities and public personalities (even though they were usually people who everyone assumed to be gay anyway): In 1997, he called Rosie O'Donnell out for being a lesbian, and she took to Larry King Live to brand him a "gay Nazi." More recently, he's been picking away at Jodie Foster, Anderson Cooper, and Clay Aiken. Musto's also a frequent sight on TV, turning up on MSNBC, VH1 and E! to crack wise. [Image via Getty]