Win Ben Stein's Money

Win Ben Stein's Money
GenreGame show
Created by
  • Al Burton
  • Donnie Brainard
  • Byron Glore
  • Andrew J. Golder
Directed byDennis Rosenblatt
Presented by
Opening themeSymphony No. 9: Ode to Joy
by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ending themeDie Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
by Richard Wagner
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes715
Production
Executive producerAndrew J. Golder
Running time30 minutes
Production companyValleycrest Productions, Ltd.
Original release
NetworkComedy Central
ReleaseJuly 28, 1997 (1997-07-28) –
January 31, 2003 (2003-01-31)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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.

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 September 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 March 2002. Kimmel's cousin Sal Iacono took over the role in April 2002 and stayed until the series ended in 2003. Kimmel made guest appearances and hosted College Week in 2001 and the final week of shows in March 2002.

  1. ^ "Awards section of Win Ben Stein's Money entry on IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 24 June 2010.