Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money is an American television game show created by Al Burton and Donnie Brainard that aired first-run episodes from July 28, 1997 to January 31, 2003, on Comedy Central. The show featured three contestants who competed to answer general knowledge questions in order to win the grand prize of $5,000 from the show's host, Ben Stein. In the second half of each episode, Stein participated as a "common" contestant in order to defend his money from being taken by his competitors. The show won six Daytime Emmy awards, with Stein and Jimmy Kimmel, the show's original co-host, sharing the Outstanding Game Show Host award in 1999. The show was produced by Valleycrest Productions, Ltd. and distributed by Buena Vista Television, both subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company.
Win Ben Stein's Money | |
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Genre | Game show |
Created by | Al Burton Donnie Brainard Byron Glore Andrew J. Golder |
Directed by | Dennis Rosenblatt |
Presented by | Ben Stein Jimmy Kimmel (1997–2000) Nancy Pimental (2000–2002) Sal Iacono (2002–2003) |
Opening theme | Symphony No. 9: Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven |
Ending theme | Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 6 |
No. of episodes | 715 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Andrew J. Golder |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Valleycrest Productions, Ltd. |
Original release | |
Network | Comedy Central |
Release | July 28, 1997 – January 31, 2003 |
As noted in the disclaimer during the closing credits, prize money won by contestants was paid from a prize budget furnished by the producers of the show. Any money left over in that budget at the end of a season was given to Stein. If the total amount paid out during a season exceeded that budget, the production company paid the excess. In this way, Stein was never in any danger of losing money from his own pocket.
Stein's co-host was Jimmy Kimmel for the first three years. Kimmel left in 2000 and was replaced by Nancy Pimental, who co-hosted the program through 2002. Kimmel's cousin Sal Iacono took over the role in 2002 and stayed until the series ended in 2003. Kimmel made guest appearances and hosted College Week in 2001.