Ben Stein, Economist, TV Show Host, Comedian, Writer
Today, my guest is Ben Stein, economist, movie actor, author, novelist, screenwriter, law school professor, television show host and comedian.
A graduate of Columbia University and Yale Law School, Ben never had any aspirations to be a lawyer; but instead stumbled into a series of jobs that ultimately led to him to serving in the Nixon and Ford administrations and achieving overnight fame in the iconic movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Ben was kind enough to take time from his busy speaking schedule to talk to me from one of his many vacation homes around the world.
In this candid conversation, Ben shared the real stories behind his varied career paths, his accidental rise to pop culture fame, and his ultimate disdain for practicing law.
1. The "Country Club" Law School and the FTC. Ben revealed that he originally chose to attend Yale Law School simply because his father told him lawyers make more money, and a successful relative advised him that Yale was an easy "country club" where he wouldn't have to do real work. Although he found the coursework overwhelming at first, he eventually graduated and worked as a trial lawyer at the Federal Trade Commission. He absolutely hated the experience, recalling that he was assigned an impossible case where top-tier opposing lawyers "beat his brains in," and he claims that not even Perry Mason could have won it.
2. The Accidental Movie Star. Ben's transition into acting was entirely the result of blind luck. While he was out in Hollywood writing screenplays for Universal, a producer found him funny and cast him in a small movie. A few months later, director John Hughes asked him to do a voice role in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Because the student extras loved him so much, Hughes told Ben to ad-lib a few scenes on screen without a single written word, an improvisation that incredibly turned him into a recognizable star in just one afternoon.
3. An Economic Renaissance Man. Beyond his recognizable acting roles, Ben's career spans an incredible array of highly intellectual jobs. He has worked as an economist for the Department of Commerce, a White House speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford, and a high-level economics writer for the Wall Street Journal and Barron's. Today, he stays remarkably busy by writing columns for conservative magazines, serving as a TV commentator on the economy for Fox News and Newsmax, and writing investing books that have been endorsed by Warren Buffett.
4. Finding Joy in the Classroom. Despite his high-profile roles in Hollywood and the White House, Ben admitted that his absolute favorite job in his entire career was teaching part-time. Early on, a former professor helped him secure a job teaching film at American University, an experience Ben looks back on as being "really, really, really fun". Now, having largely retired from writing books and screenplays, his primary goals are to continue giving public
