Ben Mankiewicz

Mankiewicz was born in Washington, D.C., to press secretary Frank Mankiewicz and Holly Mankiewicz (née Jolley)[4] of German–Jewish descent.[5] He is the cousin of screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz and filmmaker/television producer Nick Davis,[6] the grandson of screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, the grand-nephew of screenwriter, producer, and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz,[6][7] and the brother of NBC News reporter Josh Mankiewicz.

He attended Georgetown Day School for his primary and secondary education and received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University. In 1992, he received a Master of Science degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism with an emphasis in broadcast journalism.[8]

Mankiewicz began his career as a reporter and an anchor for WCSC-TV (a CBS affiliate) in Charleston, South Carolina. He joined WAMI in Miami, Florida, in 1998, where he served as anchor of The Times, a daily news magazine show and the station's highlight program.[9]

In 2003, Mankiewicz was hired as a host for Turner Classic Movies, making his debut appearance on September 6.[10][11] At the time, he was the network's second host with Robert Osborne being the first. To avoid imitating Osborne's style, Mankiewicz chose a loose, more casual demeanor, including sporting a goatee. According to Charles Tabesh, TCM's senior vice president of programming, this was encouraged. He reflected: "we really emphasized the differences [between them]. We asked him to have a goatee. We had him in a set that was a downtown loft, and his scripts were much less reverential."[12] Regardless, his early appearances was disliked among older network audiences. Years since, he started wearing more formal attire and adopted a clean-shaven image.[13]

In 2012, Osborne began delegating weekday primetime hosting appearances over to Mankiewicz.[14] Additionally, Mankiewicz hosted the network's late-night weekend series: Silent Sunday Nights and TCM Imports. In 2019, he transferred these duties to his colleagues Jacqueline Stewart and Alicia Malone, respectively.[15][16] As of 2024, Mankiewicz hosts the primetime lineup from Wednesdays to Sundays (his colleagues Dave Karger and Alicia Malone host the primetime lineup on Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively).[17]

In 2008, Mankiewicz was hired to co-host the nationally syndicated television series At the Movies, alongside Ben Lyons.[18] While Lyons's credentials as a film critic was criticized, Mankiewicz received a favorable reception among television viewers.[19] Regardless, this incarnation was cancelled after one season, and they were replaced by A. O. Scott and Michael Phillips. In response, Mankiewicz stated: "I loved working on this show, every moment of it ... It was an honor to continue a broadcast legacy not merely started by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, but created by them. No doubt the show is in good hands."[20]

He co-hosted the online film review show What the Flick?! on The Young Turks Network.[21] In 2020, TCM and Mankiewicz launched an original podcast titled The Plot Thickens, with the first season chronicling Peter Bogdanovich's (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) filmmaking career.[22] Subsequent seasons focused on the tumultuous production of The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Lucille Ball, and Pam Grier.[23] A fifth season is set to decipher the filmography of film director John Ford.[24] In 2023, Mankiewicz began co-hosting a second podcast series Talking Pictures, in which he interviewed Mel Brooks, Nancy Meyers, and Patty Jenkins among others.[25] A second season has since been renewed.[26]

Mankiewicz has made cameo appearances in the Lifetime television movie The Bling Ring (2011) and the action film White House Down (2013). He also appears regularly on other shows as a political and media commentator, including The Michael Brooks Show in 2017.[27] In 2019, he became a news contributor for CBS News Sunday Morning.[3] He was among the people interviewed for the documentary film Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019).

Mankiewicz married his second wife, Lee Russo, aboard the Disney Magic during the 2013 TCM Classic Cruise.[12] They live in Santa Monica, California with their daughter, Josie.[3][28]

• Ben Mankiewicz on Facebook
• Ben Mankiewicz at IMDb