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Ben There

''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' producers seem to think so

By Tricia Johnson | Dec 06, 1999
Here's a $64,000 question: Why didn't anyone select Ben Stein as a lifeline on ABC's ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''? After all, the Yale-trained host of Comedy Central's ''Win Ben Stein's Money'' is a walking ''Encyclopaedia Britannica.'' EW asked Stein himself, and it turns out the egghead WAS recently contacted by a woman who claimed to be a contestant.

''A total stranger e-mailed me,'' says Stein. ''I said I would do it, but then she said the producers [of ''Millionaire''] wouldn't let her.'' ABC didn't return calls regarding the alleged Stein ban, but the know-it-all host thinks he's got it figured out. ''I think I'm beyond amateur status in this area of answering questions quickly on television,'' says Stein, whose show launched a new season Nov. 29. ''I'm known to be sort of a ringer.''

Originally posted Dec 06, 1999
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