'Cash Cab' host parks it for yuks
Ben Bailey is best known as the host of Discovery Channel's hit "Cash Cab," a "game show on wheels" in which he picks people up at random in his taxi, drives them around New York City and asks them trivia questions on the way to their destination. (If they can avoid getting three questions wrong, they win all the money they've accumulated; if not, he pulls over and kicks them out on the spot.) But he's also been a stand-up comedian for 15 years and recently caught up with us via telephone to preview this week's four-night stand at the Funny Farm.
I read somewhere that you had nearly 70 jobs before and during your rise as a comedian. What were some of the more memorable ones?
There's a running joke in the little New Jersey town I grew up in that I worked at every single shop in town, and if I got fired from one I'd go right next door and get another one. [Laughs] I worked at the pizzeria, bike shop, library, two different pools, delivered flowers, pretty much everywhere in town. The most memorable job was being a limo driver, which I did for five or six years and hope to one day make a show about.
What's the weirdest thing that's happened during your three years on "Cash Cab"?
We had one guy who was convinced the people who came over to help him during his "street shout-out" [in which random passers-by can help a contestant answer a question] were planted by us to give him the wrong answer so he would lose. He started getting angry at me, so I just parked and the producers got him out of the cab. Like we have that kinda budget! [Laughs]
Do you and the guys from other Discovery Channel shows get together for beers and swap war stories?
Not really, but we did meet one time at the upfronts in New York, where the networks try to sell ads. It was me, the captains from "Deadliest Catch," Mike from "Dirty Jobs" and Bear from "Man vs. Wild" all hanging out, and that was a lot of fun. Everybody thinks we all go in and punch a clock before heading out to do our shows!
What are the best and worst parts of driving a cab in the Big Apple?
A: The best part's gotta be all the different people you get to see. There's nothing like people-watching in New York. The worst part is definitely being stuck in traffic. It's brutal!
For people who only know you from "Cash Cab," what can they expect from your stand-up act?
Dirtier language and a lot more laughs. A friend of mine summed up my act well, calling it "surreal observational humor" because there's always a little twist to it.
