Win Ben Stein's Money
American television game show / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 features three contestants who compete to answer general knowledge questions to win the grand prize of $5,000 from the show's host, Ben Stein. In the second half of each episode, Stein participates as a "common" contestant in order to defend his money from being taken by his competitors. The show won six Daytime Emmy awards,[1] 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 |
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| Directed by | Dennis Rosenblatt |
| Presented by |
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| 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 (1997-07-28) – January 31, 2003 (2003-01-31) |
As noted in the disclaimer during the closing credits, prize money won by contestants is 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 is given to Stein. If the total amount paid out during a season exceeds that budget, the production company pays the excess. In this way, Stein is never in any danger of losing money from his own pocket.
Jimmy Kimmel co-hosted the series for the first three years. Kimmel left in 2000 to focus on The Man Show and was replaced by South Park's then head writer 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.