Results tagged “benstein”

In a tender column for the Times, one-time Nixon speech writer and Wonder Years star Ben Stein tells of how the "wealth management division" of an investment bank came to his Beverly Hills home two years ago trying to get him to invest with "a genius (who) never lost money." That genius, of course, was Bernard Madoff. What the bank didn't realize of course was that while Madoff may very well have been a genius, Ben Stein is a supergenius and turned down the offer.

American Experience: New York Underground (Monday, 9:00 p.m. WNET 13) Channel Thirteen re-airs this 1997 documentary about the building of the New York City Subway.

Remember doodling in your notebook while your teacher droned on and on and on and on like Ben Stein? Well, pull that Bic from behind your ear and start scribbling. The drawings from These Bagels Are Gnarly: Ballpoint Pen Group Drawing Show are on sale for up to $1200 at Cinders Gallery (103 Havemeyer; Brooklyn). Unlike in a high-school cafeteria, everyone finds acceptance at Cinders. Simple rows of crosshatches like the kind kept to pass time in prison are on the same wall as meticulously detailed portraits of animals; amateurish cartoons face social commentary.

This week is rife with comedy possibilities, thanks in part to the 7th Annual Del Close Marathon at the UCB Theatre. The festival is named for the guru-junkie-genius who helped found Chicago’s ImprovOlympic. If you want to put a face with the name, Close was also the teacher in Ferris Bueller who wasn't Ben Stein. The fest has grown in size and stature over the last 7 years and to accommodate there will be a second stage at the Abingdon Theatre, which has been putting up additional shows all week with some big names from New York and Chicago. The Chicago based groups listed below tend to attract huge, loyal audiences that pack the house as they generally don’t perform in New York more than once a year. Gothamist recommends you check them out during the week to avoid having to stand in a packed, overheated theater with an obstructed view.