Ben Stein

Ben Stein (Benjamin J. Stein) was born on Nov. 25, 1944 in Washington, D. C. The son of noted economist and writer Herbert Stein, he grew up in Silver Spring, Md. , and attended Montgomery Blair High School. Some of his classmates included journalist Carl Bernstein, and actors Goldie Hawn and Sylvester Stallone.

He graduated from Columbia University in 1966 with honors in economics and as valedictorian of the 1970 Yale Law School class. He has worked as a poverty lawyer, a trial lawyer, a university adjunct (American University, University of California at Santa Cruz and Pepperdine University), a speech writer for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Herald Examiner, King Features Syndicate, Los Angeles Magazine, New York Magazine, E! Online and The American Spectator. He also writes frequently for The Washington Post. Stein has written and published 16 books (seven novels, nine nonfiction books), the most recent of which is about life with his 12-year-old son, Tommy.

He has been a longtime screenwriter and was one of the creators of the TV series Fernwood Tonight (1977).

Best known in the 1980s for his bit role as the repetitive teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

Twenty years after his Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) part as the economics teacher, Stein made a 2006 commercial with the old 1986 footage from the movie. He used make-up to stay accurate, while adding new comedic material.

Release of his book, "Hollywood Days, Hollywood Nights: The Diary of a Mad Screenwriter". [1988]

Release of his book, "A License to Steal: The Untold Story of Michael Milken and the Conspiracy to Bilk the Nation". [1992]

The only actor to appear in The Mask (1994), Son Of The Mask (2005), plus the animated TV-series The Mask (1995), reprising his role of Dr. Arthur Neuman.

Release of his book, "Tommy & Me: The Making of a Dad". [1998]

Was extremely fond of his dog, Puppy Wuppy. Puppy Wuppy appeared on every episode of Turn Ben Stein On (1999), as he was allowed to simply run around on the set during the taping. Puppy Wuppy was killed when he was hit by a car, and parts of the episodes of Turn Ben Stein On (1999) and Win Ben Stein's Money (1997) taped after his death were devoted to him.

2000: Appeared at the Republican National Convention honoring George W. Bush in a spoof of his game show, Win Ben Stein's Money (1997).

Release of his book, "How to Ruin Your Life". [2002]

Release of his book, "Yes, You Can Time the Market!" by Ben with Phil DeMuth. [2003]

Since 2004, has been writing a semi-monthly "Everybody's Business" column in the Sunday New York Times. [July 2007]

Release of his book, "Yes, You Can Be a Successful Income Investor!: Reaching for Yield in Today's Market" by Ben with Phil DeMuth. [2005]

Release of his book, "How to Ruin the U.S.A.". [2008]

Has been stripped of his Sunday New York Times business column because of his work as a pitchman for FreeScore.com, a credit monitoring company [August 8, 2009].

Release of his book, "The Book of Bulletproof Investing" by Ben with Phil DeMuth. [2010]

In an interview for Vulture in October 2017, Jimmy Kimmel talked affectionately about his friendship and past working relationship with Stein. Kimmel noted that Stein "thinks I am a lot smarter than I am" and discussed how Stein was told by the Comedy Central executives overseeing "Win Ben Stein's Money" that the show would be cancelled if he never lost a single game, and also recounted how Stein loved his family's pet dog so much that after it died, he had it stuffed by a taxidermist and put on the desk he used during his show.