Benjamin Fredrick "Ben" Mankiewicz is an American radio and television personality.
Background
Mankiewicz was born in Washington, District of Columbia He is the son of Holly (née Jolley) and Frank Mankiewicz, the cousin of the screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz, grandson of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, and great-nephew of screenwriter, producer, and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Education
Columbia University; Tufts University.
Career
He is best known as a commentator on The Young Turks, a film and television critic for What the Flick? and as host for Turner Classic Movies. He is the brother of National Broadcasting Company News reporter Josh Mankiewicz. He attended Georgetown Day High School, Tufts University, and Columbia University.
Mankiewicz began his career as a reporter and an anchor for WCSC-television (a Columbia Broadcasting System 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 He is a regular fill-in and co-host of the progressive YouTube talk show The Young Turks, along with Cenk Uygur, and hosts TYT Sports and What The Flick?!, two spinoff shows on The Young Turks Network.
On weekends he presents classic movies on the American cable television channel, Turner Classic Movies. From 2004-2007, he hosted TCM"s Cartoon Alley, shown weekly on Saturday mornings, and has acted as occasional fill-in host for TCM"s full-time host, Robert Osborne.
In 2008, he and Ben Lyons replaced Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper on the syndicated television program At the Movies.
In August 2009, Lyons and Mankiewicz were replaced by Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune and A.O. Scott from The New York Times. Mankiewicz has made cameo appearances in the movies The Bling Ring (2013) and White House Down (2013).