'Cash Cab' host Ben Bailey brings his stand-up comedy to Sarasota

In the garage of his home in Morristown, N.J., sits the most famous taxicab in America.

Ben Bailey spent seven years as the host of "Cash Cab" on the Discovery Channel. He drove around New York City in a cab equipped with colorful flashing lights in the ceiling, giving cash prizes to people who happened to hail his taxi.

When he got the call telling him the show was being canceled, the first thing he did was to call the production company.

"I want to buy that cab," he said.

It's been sitting in his garage ever since, except for the occasional road trip.

Bailey's best known as the "Cash Cab" guy," but before he turned to game show hosting he was a stand-up comedian. He still is, and he's coming to the McCurdy's Comedy Theatre in Sarasota for four shows on Saturday and Sunday.

Being a huge fan of Bailey's affable persona on "Cash Cab" doesn't necessarily translate into being a fan of his stand-up work. Bailey himself will tell you that.

"It's not a clean act," he said in a phone interview, just before he headed into New York for a stand-up gig. "I'm not asking trivia questions and giving away cash."

Audiences for his comedy shows, at least in the early days of "Cash Cab," were a bit taken aback by his potty mouth.

"It was a little tricky at first," Bailey said with a little chuckle.

He compares the dichotomy between his live shows and his TV work to that of Bob Saget, who went from being the super-wholesome patriarch of the "Full House" to a stand-up comedian who's known for routines that are R-rated at best.

Bailey said he's not quite that extreme.

"I was never anybody's dad," he said, "and I'm nowhere near that filthy."

But even in an interview with a family newspaper, he doesn't mind dropping a casual F-word into his conversation with some regularity.

"Cash Cab" originated on British television, and in that version an automated voice asked the questions. That was never seriously considered for the American version, he said.

"The first idea was to find a cab driver who had personality," Bailey said. "When that didn't work out, they said 'Let's get a stand-up comedian!'"

Bailey auditioned and got the job, became a star and won a bunch of Emmy Awards.

In the early days of the show, he said, New Yorkers were suspicious of a cabbie who wanted to give them money, and even refused to participate. But attitudes changed once the show gained some popularity.

"We went from people getting out of the cab and saying 'Yeah, sure man, whatever' to people chasing us down the street trying to be the next one in the cab," he said. One incident that stands out for him happened when he dropped someone off at Washington Square Park, right after the academic year had started at New York University. A group of female students, probably in New York for the first time, spotted Bailey and started screaming. One was even crying. One of the "Cash Cab" crew members was amazed, and maybe a bit envious. "Man," he told Bailey, "you're the damn Beatles."

Details: July 17-18, McCurdy's Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. Show times 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $29. Information: 941-925-3869, mccurdyscomedy.com.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919. Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "'Cash Cab' host Ben Bailey brings his stand-up comedy to Sarasota ."