Ben Bailey
Benjamin Ray Bailey (born October 30, 1970) is an American comedian best known as the host of the game show Cash Cab. He also does stand-up comedy, and as an actor has appeared in some films and television shows. He has received multiple Daytime Emmy nominations including three wins for Outstanding Game Show Host, as the host of Cash Cab.
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| Ben Bailey |
|---|
| Bailey at the 2012 premiere of Bad Parents |
| Benjamin Ray Bailey (1970-10-30) October 30, 1970Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Host and executive producer of Cash Cab |
| 1993–present |
| Television, stand-up |
| Observational comedy, satire |
| Everyday life, self-deprecation, marriage, pop culture |
Benjamin Ray Bailey (born October 30, 1970) is an American comedian best known as the host of the game show Cash Cab. He also does stand-up comedy, and as an actor has appeared in some films and television shows. He has received multiple Daytime Emmy nominations including three wins for Outstanding Game Show Host, as the host of Cash Cab.
Bailey was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and raised in Chatham Borough, New Jersey. During his youth Bailey was a member of his local Fish & Game Club, where he was a county champion swimmer and diver. In interviews he has stated that he was often the "comic relief" in his family, especially as a kid, helping ease tension. He graduated in 1988 from Chatham Borough High School.
Bailey attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he majored in liberal arts; he left a semester before graduation to move to Los Angeles in 1993.
According to Bailey, he was telling stories with some comedians after hours at The Comedy Store (where he worked as a bartender and bouncer) when Skip E. Lowe, who was emceeing at the club, found his stories humorous and offered him an opportunity to perform stand-up. Bailey soon returned to the East Coast, where he gained popularity at comedy clubs in New York City. He has since performed at major festivals such as Just For Laughs and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As of 2019, he toured as a headliner.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Bailey streamed his comedy show Work from Home to YouTube, with his girlfriend as co-host and producer. He filmed the show in his basement.
Bailey in 2017 performing a comedy show at Schriever Air Force Base
In 2006, he starred in his first special on Comedy Central, Comedy Central Presents Ben Bailey. In 2011, he released a two-part special, Road Rage and Accidental Ornithology. In 2016, he released Ben Bailey Live & Uncensored and in 2024, he released the Please Tell Me What I Said special on his YouTube channel.
Bailey was the host and producer of the American version of Cash Cab, a TV game show played in a taxicab that Bailey drives around New York City, broadcast on the Discovery Channel and Bravo. He hosted the show for all of its 14 seasons, including its initial run from 2005 to 2012, as well as its return from 2017 to 2020. He also hosted the short-lived 2007 spin off Cash Cab After Dark.
Bailey also appeared on the new Shovio.com's TalkBackTV. He narrated the Discovery Channel's series Smash Lab. From 2011 to 2012, he was the host of Who's Still Standing? on NBC; the show was not renewed for a second season due to high production costs.
He has also appeared in ABC's The Knights of Prosperity, Hope & Faith, NBC's Law and Order SVU, and Fox's Mad TV, and has also appeared in Blue Bloods, 30 Rock, with a recurring role on One Life to Live. In 2019 he made a cameo appearance as himself in the seventh episode of the show Perpetual Grace, LTD where drives the cash cab.
He has appeared on talk shows such as The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Oprah, Rachel Ray, Good Day New York, and numerous morning/radio shows nationwide.
Bailey has had several film appearances, most notably in Bad Parents. He was also set to appear in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), but his scene was cut from the final film.
He has done television commercials for ALDI and Michigan electric/natural gas company DTE Energy .
From 2022 to 2023 Bailey hosted Money Grab in the Cab, a show very similar to Cash Cab, in which he drove around giving farmers 10 minutes to answer as many questions as they could in order to earn money for their local FFA chapter.
In 2023 Bailey appeared in The Game Show Show, a documentary about the history of game shows.
In 2025 Bailey partnered with the Kansas City Chiefs to create a video special titled "The Chiefs Cab" which was inspired by Cash Cab. In the special Bailey drives around members of the Chiefs organization and asks them questions.
Bailey lives in Morristown, 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.
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Daytime Emmy | Outstanding Game Show Host | Cash Cab | Nominated |
| 2008 | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Game Show (shared) | Won | |||
| 2009 | Outstanding Game Show Host | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Game Show (shared) | Won | |||
| 2010 | Outstanding Game Show Host | Won | ||
| Outstanding Game Show (shared) | Won | |||
| 2011 | Outstanding Game Show Host | Won | ||
| 2012 | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Game Show (shared) | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Outstanding Game Show Host | Won | ||
| Outstanding Game Show (shared) | Nominated |
| Year | Title | Role | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | MadTV | Security guard | |
| 2002 | Late Friday | Guest appearance | |
| 2002 | Platinum Blend | Guest appearance | |
| 2003 | Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn | Guest appearance | |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Transit Sergeant Ambrose | |
| 2004 | Hope and Faith | Eddie Vanderbeek | |
| 2004 | Last Call with Carson Daly | Guest appearance | |
| 2005-2020 | Cash Cab | Host and executive producer | (458 episodes) |
| 2005 | One Life to Live | Haskell | (4 episodes) |
| 2006 | Comedy Central Presents | Himself | TV special |
| 2007 | Cash Cab After Dark | Host | (13 episodes) |
| 2007 | The Knights of Prosperity | Ralph Carnucci | |
| 2007 | The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch | Guest appearance | |
| 2008 | Smash Lab | Narrator | |
| 2009 | After the Catch | Host | (5 episodes) |
| 2010 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Guest appearance | |
| 2010 | 30 Rock | Himself | |
| 2011 | Ben Bailey Road Rage | Himself | TV special |
| 2011 | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Guest appearance | (2 episodes) |
| 2011 | Best in the Business | Host | TV miniseries |
| 2011-2012 | Who's Still Standing | Host | (6 episodes) |
| 2012 | Big Morning Buzz Live | Guest panelist | |
| 2014-2015 | Brain Games | Self | (2 episodes) |
| 2016 | Deadliest Catch The Bait | Self | |
| 2016 | Unforgettable | Lorenzo Abrelli | |
| 2016 | The Other F Word | Brian | |
| 2012-2017 | Racheal Ray | Guest appearance | (2 episodes) |
| 2018 | Caroline & Friends | Guest appearance | |
| 2018 | Kill Tony | Guest host | |
| 2019 | Perpetual Grace, LTD | Himself | |
| 2021 | Blue Bloods | Emmet Fells | |
| 2022-2023 | Money Grab in a Cab | Host | (15 episodes) |
| 2023 | The Game Show Show | Self | (2 episodes) |
| 2024 | Sherri | Guest appearance |
| Year | Title | Role | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Bad Meat | Agent 1 | |
| 2005 | They're Made Out of Meat | Dexter | Short |
| 2007 | Don't Shoot The Pharmacist | Zach Wright | |
| 2012 | Bad Parents | Graham | |
| 2013 | Delivery Man | Himself | Uncredited |
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- Official website
- Ben Bailey at IMDb