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ALL IN THE FAMILY Lyons, Mankiewicz
Tuesday, the AP reported that Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz will take over for Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper as hosts of At the Movies. Stepping into the shoes of America's best-known movie reviewers may be a daunting task but, luckily, both Lyons and Mankiewicz—whose connections to media and show business are deep and longstanding—seem to have been born for their new roles.

Ben Lyons is the grandson of New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons and son of NBC film and theater critic Jeffrey Lyons. Mankiewicz's list of connections stretches even longer. His father is politico Frank Mankiewicz, who once worked as Robert Kennedy's press secretary and famously found his way onto Nixon's "enemies list." His grandfather, Herman Mankiewicz, co-wrote Citizen Kane with Orson Welles. His cousin is screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz, who penned the Bond movies Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, and The Man with the Golden Gun. Ben is also the grandnephew of Academy Award-winning director Joseph L. Mankiewicz and the brother of Josh Mankiewicz—who is making his own on-air career as a reporter for NBC news.

In June, Radar chronicled the new age of nepotism—specifically highlighting the rising class of aristobrats, poised to follow in their famous parent's footsteps, and ready to leverage their "brand" surnames into career gold. Lyons and Mankiewicz weren't on our original list, but—in light of their recent appointments—we think they deserve an honorable mention.

By Paige Ferrari   07/23/08 2:30 PM
Related: Ben Lyons, Ben Mankiewicz, Duly Noted, Pop
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