Benjamin Ray Bailey (born October 30, 1970) is an American comedian.
He is best known for hosting the
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...
, and raised in
Chatham Borough, New Jersey
Chatham is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, Chatham's population was 8,962,Chatham Borough High School as part of the school's 76th and final graduating class.
He attended
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with a ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Bea ...
, before moving to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in 1993.
Standing at , he was offered a job as a
bouncer
A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
for
The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California.
History
The Comedy S ...
after bumming a cigarette from a man in the parking lot.
Career
According to Bailey, he was telling stories with some comedians after hours at The Comedy Store when Skip E. Lowe, who was emceeing at the club, found his stories humorous and offered him an opportunity at
stand-up
Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories ...
.
Bailey is the host of the American version of '' Cash Cab'', a TV game show played in a
taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
that Bailey drives around
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, broadcast on the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
and Bravo.
He also recently made an appearance on the new Shovio.com's ''TalkBackTV''. He narrated the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
's series '' Smash Lab''.
From 2011 to 2012, Bailey was the host of ''
Who's Still Standing?
''Who's Still Standing?'' is an American adaptation of the Israeli game show ''La'uf al HaMillion'', ( he, לעוף על המיליון) or ''Fly on the Million'', which offers contestants the opportunity to win up to US$1 million while competing ...
'' on NBC.
On May 13, 2012, it was announced that the show would not be renewed for a second season due to high production costs.
He does television commercials for Michigan electric/natural gas company
DTE Energy
DTE Energy (formerly Detroit Edison until 1996) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services in the United States and Canada. Its operating units include an elec ...
&
ALDI
Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
.
Personal life
Bailey lives in
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...
.
He met his ex-wife, Laurence, in a pub in Morristown in the 1990s.
The couple married in 1997 and divorced in 2012. They have two children.
Bailey is a licensed taxi driver in New York City.
Awards
As the host of ''Cash Cab'', Ben received
Daytime Emmy
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...
nominations in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2013 for "
Outstanding Game Show Host
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given to honor the outstanding work of a ...
", winning in 2010, 2011 & 2013.
The show took home honors at the Daytime Emmy awards for Best Game Show in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Appearances
* ''
30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
agent
* ''Bertcast #331'' with
Bert Kreischer
Bert Kreischer (born November 3, 1972), nicknamed "The Machine", is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, reality television host and actor. In 1997, he was featured in an article in ''Rolling Stone'' while attending Florida State University ...
Brain Games (National Geographic)
''Brain Games'' is an American popular science television series that explores cognitive science by focusing on illusions, psychological experiments, and counterintuitive thinking. The series debuted on National Geographic in 2011 as a special ...
Comedy Central Presents
''Comedy Central Presents'' is an American stand-up comedy television series created for Comedy Central. It is the network's main half-hour program which highlights either one or a series of stand-up comedians each episode. In 2011, the series e ...
''
* ''
Delivery Man
Delivery is the process of transporting goods from a source location to a predefined destination. Cargo (physical goods) is primarily delivered via roads and railroads on land, shipping lanes on the sea, and airline networks in the air. Cer ...
'' (2013)
* ''Don't Shoot The Pharmacist''
* ''The Haney Project: Ray Romano''
* ''
Friends of the People
''Friends of the People'' is an American sketch comedy television series. It was slated to premiere on TruTV in summer 2014, but was pushed to October 28, 2014, as part of the network's shift in their programming direction. Many of the cast mem ...
'' (2015)
* ''
Hope & Faith
''Hope & Faith'' is an American television sitcom, starring Faith Ford and Kelly Ripa as Hope Shanowski and Faith Fairfield. Hope is a homemaker and mother of three and Faith is her sister, a soap opera star whose character is killed off, leadi ...
''
* ''
The Knights of Prosperity
''The Knights of Prosperity'' is an American comedy series that premiered on ABC in the United States on Wednesday, January 3, 2007. It was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, who also created the NBC comedy-drama '' Ed''. The show follows ...
''
* ''
Last Call with Carson Daly
''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''T ...
''
* ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2 ...
MADtv
''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...
''
* ''
Premium Blend
''Premium Blend'' was a stand-up comedy series created and directed by Paul Miller that aired on the American cable television channel Comedy Central from 1997 to 2005. In 2005 the show was changed, and now known as "Live at Gotham".
The show w ...
'' on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
They're Made Out of Meat
"They're Made Out of Meat" is a short story by American writer Terry Bisson. It was originally published in ''Omni (magazine), OMNI''. It consists entirely of dialogue between two characters. Bisson's website hosts a play (theatre), theatrical adap ...
''
* ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' with
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
* ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and Talk show, talk breakfast television, morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program de ...
'' (April 2, 2008)
* ''
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'' is a comedic talk show which aired on Comedy Central from 2002 to 2004. The show featured host Colin Quinn and a panel of comedian guests, discussing politics, current events, and social issues.
Show history and ...
''
* ''Unforgettable S04E09'' (January 2016)
* ''Who's Still Standing?'' - host
* ''The World Stands Up''