Ben Stein, best known as the deadpan economics teacher in the 1986 classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, was spotted in Los Angeles this week at the age of 81, being pushed in a wheelchair by a man in scrubs while remaining snappily dressed in a coat and tie.
Stein first rose to prominence in the 1970s as an attorney and speechwriter in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His father, Herbert Stein, served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under both presidents. The younger Stein also attracted attention during that era from rumors that he was “Deep Throat,” the anonymous Watergate source who later turned out to be FBI official Mark Felt.
His Hollywood breakthrough came in 1986 with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, directed by John Hughes. Stein played an economics teacher who leaves students slack-jawed with boredom while trying to prod them into answering with repeated calls of “Anyone? Anyone?” He has said the role was his first time ever in front of a camera, and that when director Hughes asked him to improvise his dialogue, he drew from a lecture he had recently given on monetary policy. The result was his famous speech on the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.
After wrapping the film, Matthew Broderick approached Stein to tell him he was “really good” and asked whether he had ever done stage acting or Broadway. Stein told him it was his first time on camera.
Stein went on to build a steady acting career following the film’s success, including a recurring guest role on the family sitcom The Wonder Years and a part in the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy The Mask, in which he played a psychiatrist advising Carrey’s character about the supernatural properties of the titular device.
From 1997 through 2003, Stein hosted Win Ben Stein’s Money on Comedy Central, a general knowledge quiz show in which he would compete against contestants for his own $5,000 prize. He initially co-hosted the show alongside Jimmy Kimmel.
Over recent decades, Stein has been active as a conservative political commentator, writing for outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsmax, and appearing on radio and television. His commentary has drawn controversy on more than one occasion, including his expressed optimism about subprime mortgages ahead of the 2008 financial crash, and remarks he made in 2014 about race in America.
This past May, Stein appeared onstage at the TCM Classic Film Festival alongside Alan Ruck to mark the 40th anniversary of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The Daily Mail has contacted Stein’s representative for comment on his current condition.
