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Ben Stein

Ben SteinAKA Benjamin Jeremy Stein

Born: 25-Nov-1944
Birthplace: Washington, DC

Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Game Show Host, Actor, Attorney
Party Affiliation: Republican

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Host of Win Ben Stein's Money

To most people, Ben Stein is the host of Win Ben Stein's Money or the boring teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Wonder Years. Before he was famous, though, Stein was class valedictorian at Yale Law School. He's written seven novels, and one was made into a James Woods movie, The Boost. He was co-creator of Fernwood 2Nite, and taught ethics and securities law at Pepperdine University. He is also an economist, screenwriter, law school professor, and political pundit.

Ben Stein's father, Herb Stein, was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Richard M. Nixon, which presumably helped young Stein, just a few years out of law school, get hired as a Nixon speechwriter. After Nixon resigned, Stein became a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote a piece harshly criticizing Norman Lear, the then-darling of liberals responsible for All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Lear thought Stein's column was funny, and hired him to write for All's Fair, a Lear sitcom with Richard Crenna and Bernadette Peters, which quickly tanked.

Stein's high school classmates include Carl Bernstein, Connie Chung, Goldie Hawn, and Sylvester Stallone. He loves his wife so much he's married her twice. He is widely considered the funniest Republican in Hollywood. But still, Stein is more Republican than funny. Emceeing the National Right to Life's Proudly Pro-Life Awards Dinner a few months after September 11, Stein spoke somberly of the 3,000 people who lost their lives that day, then added that many more lives than that are taken each day by abortion. "Abortion", said Stein, "is the worst form of terrorism because it is against the most innocent of lives, the unborn".

Father: Herbert Stein (economist, b. 1916, d. 8-Sep-1999)
Mother: Mildred Stein (d. Apr-1997 age 81)
Sister: Rachel Stein (writer)
Wife: Alexandra Denman (b. 1947, m. 1968, div. 1974; remarried 1977)
Son: Tommy Stein (adopted, b. 1987)

    High School: Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, MD (1962)
    University: BS Economics, Columbia University (1966)
    Law School: JD, Yale Law School (1970)
    Teacher: American University, Washington, DC
    Teacher: Visiting Lecturer, University of California at Santa Cruz
    Teacher: Pepperdine University

    Barron's Contributor
    The American Spectator Columnist
    The New York Times Columnist (2000-09)
    The Wall Street Journal Columnist
    White House Speechwriter
    US Federal Trade Commission trial lawyer
    Al Franken for Senate
    Americans for a Republican Majority
    Bush-Cheney 2000
    Bush-Cheney '04
    Dreier for Congress Committee
    Fred Thompson PAC
    George W. Bush for President
    JD Hayworth for Congress
    John McCain 2008
    Life Legal Defense Foundation Advisory Board
    Nader for President 2004
    National Association for Variable Annuities Spokesman
    National Right to Life Committee
    National Republican Congressional Committee
    National Republican Senatorial Committee
    Republican Jewish Coalition
    Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee
    Susan B. Anthony List Advisory Committee
    Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
    Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors Honorary Board of Directors
    Emmy Outstanding Game-Show Host, Win Ben Stein's Money 1999
    Endorsement of DirecTV 2006
    Endorsement of Yahoo!
    Endorsement of Comcast 2009
    Mugged
    Evolution Skeptics
    Global Warming Skeptics

    TELEVISION
    Win Ben Stein's Money Host (1997-2002)
    The Wonder Years Mr. Cantwell (1989-91)
    Star Search Judge (2002-3)
    Fernwood 2 Nite

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (18-Apr-2008) · Himself
    Your Mommy Kills Animals (20-Jul-2007)
    Fired! (2-Feb-2007) · Himself
    Son of the Mask (11-Feb-2005)
    Santa vs. the Snowman 3D (1-Nov-2002) [VOICE]
    Wakko's Wish (26-Jul-1999) [VOICE]
    Men in White (16-Aug-1998) · Himself
    Casper: A Spirited Beginning (21-Oct-1997)
    A Smile Like Yours (22-Aug-1997) [VOICE]
    House Arrest (14-Aug-1996)
    Casper (26-May-1995) · Rugg
    Miami Rhapsody (27-Jan-1995)
    Richie Rich (21-Dec-1994)
    The Mask (29-Jul-1994) · Dr. Neuman
    North (22-Jul-1994) · Curator
    My Girl 2 (11-Feb-1994) · Stanley Rosenfeld
    The Day My Parents Ran Away (13-Dec-1993)
    Me and the Kid (22-Oct-1993)
    Dennis the Menace (24-Jun-1993) · Boss
    Dave (7-May-1993) · Himself
    Mastergate (1-Nov-1992)
    Honeymoon in Vegas (28-Aug-1992)
    Soapdish (31-May-1991) · Nitwit
    Ghostbusters II (16-Jun-1989) · Public Works Official
    Easy Wheels (15-May-1989) · Preacher
    Frankenstein General Hospital (Mar-1988)
    Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (25-Nov-1987)
    Ferris Bueller's Day Off (11-Jun-1986) · Economics Teacher
    The Wild Life (28-Sep-1984)

Official Website:
http://www.benstein.com/


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