Benjamin Jeremy Stein (born November 25, 1944) is an American writer, lawyer, actor, comedian, and commentator on political and economic issues. He began his career as a speechwriter for U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before entering the entertainment field as an actor, comedian, and game show host. He is best known on screen as the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as the host of Win Ben Stein's Money, and as Dr. Arthur Neuman in The Mask and Son of the Mask. Stein also co-wrote and starred in the controversial 2008 film Expelled which was widely criticized for promoting pseudoscientific intelligent design creationist claims. Stein is the son of economist and writer Herbert Stein, who worked at the White House under President Nixon. As a character actor, he is well known for his droning, monotonous delivery. In comedy, he is known for his deadpan delivery.[1]
Early life and education
Stein was born on November 25, 1944 in Washington, D.C., the son of Jewish parents Mildred ( Fishman), a homemaker, and Herbert Stein, a writer, economist, and presidential adviser.He grew up in the Woodside Forest neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. Stein graduated in 1962 from Montgomery Blair High School, which journalist Carl Bernstein (class of 1960) and actress Goldie Hawn (class of 1963) also attended.[3] He graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1966.[4] As undergraduate, he studied under economist C. Lowell Harriss.[5] He then earned his Juris Doctor in 1970 from Yale Law School, where he was elected valedictorian of his class.[6] While at Yale, he studied finance under economists Jan Deutsch and Henry Wallich.[5]
Career
Legal and academic career
He was first a poverty lawyer in New Haven, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., before becoming a trial lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission.
Stein's first teaching stint was as an adjunct professor, teaching about the political and social content of mass culture at American University in Washington, D.C. He subsequently taught classes at the University of California, Santa Cruz on political and civil rights under the United States Constitution. At Pepperdine University Stein taught libel law and United States securities law and its ethical aspects. He was a professor of law and economics at Pepperdine University Law School from about 1990 to 1997.[7]
Writing career
Stein writes a regular column in the conservative media outlets The American Spectator and Newsmax
Personal life
Stein is married to entertainment lawyer Alexandra Denman.[24][25] They were married in 1968 and divorced in 1974. They reconciled and in 1977 they were married again. Stein lives with Denman in Beverly Hills and Malibu, California.[26][27] He also has a summer home in Sandpoint, Idaho,[28] and an apartment in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., which he inherited from his parents.[29]
Views and advocacy
Abortion
Stein is opposed to legalized abortion and was given an award in 2003 by the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund.[31]
Larry Craig scandal
In 2007, Stein chastised the police and the GOP leadership for their response to the Larry Craig scandal. Stein said that Craig's sexuality should not be an issue: "A party that believes in individual rights should be rallying to his defense, not making him walk the plank."[32]
Tax code
Stein has criticized the United States Internal Revenue Code for being too lenient on the wealthy. He has repeated the observation made by Warren Buffett
Bibliography
Stein's book titles to date (7 fiction, 21 nonfiction) include:
Filmography and television appearances
External links
References
- 'Ferris Bueller's Ben Stein Sues Ad Agency & Client Claiming Political Discrimination Deadline Hollywood, 11 January 2012, retrieved 3 November 2015^
- Ben Stein Biography (1944–) filmreference.com, NetIndustries, LLC, retrieved April 22, 2008^
- Ben Wattenberg. Ben Stein's America