Who is Ben Mankiewicz? Everything to know about Turner Classic Movies host who interviewed Tim Curry after his 2012 stroke

Ben Mankiewicz is an interviewer, as well as a radio and TV personality. Mankiewicz hosts the Turner Classic Movies series, and is the grandson of Herman Mankiewicz, the screenwriter for the Hollywod classic film Citizen Kane, which was released in 1941.

Ben Mankiewicz is also the nephew of Joseph L. Mankiewicz, known for films such as The Barefoot Contessa, The Quiet American, and Cleopatra. Mankiewicz did an podcast episode on Joseph L. Mankiewicz and the history of his film Cleopatra for podcast the Plot Thickens.

Before working with Turner Classic Movies, Mankiewicz worked as a reporter and just before he joined Turner Classic Movies as a host in 2003, he co-founded TYT Network's show The Young Turks alongside Cenk Ungyur. He was a co host of The Young Turks till 2007.

In 2012, he was the host of Hot Set on Sy Fy and in 2015, he became the host of The Conversation Series by the International Documentary Association. He is also the main interviewer for Path Content Group, a premium entertainment company. He is their interviewer for private and legacy videos. He has previously also been a host for At the Movies.

During his time with Turner Classic Movies, he has interviewed filmmakers and actors such as Faye Dunaway, Quentin Tarantino, and Jodie Foster, among others. The host interviewed Tim Curry on October 19, 2025 as a correspondent for CBS Mornings on their In Conversation series. The actor talked about his memoir, and stroke, among other things, during the interview.

Ben Mankiewicz posted about his interview afterward, stating in an X post:

"So grateful I got to do this story on actor Tim Curry, who faces his considerable struggles with minimal bitterness, and with his thriving sense of humor. (Didn’t make the piece, but he enjoyed making The Hunt for Red October and he adored Sean Connery)."

More on Ben Mankiewicz's interview with Tim Curry

Ben Mankiewicz's interview with Tim Curry was released on October 19, 2025 on the official YouTube channel of CBS Mornings. During the interview, the actor elaborated on his 2012 stroke as mentioned above. He stated to Makiewicz:

"It was so strange. I was actually having a massage and the guy who was giving me a massage said, "I'm worried about you. I think we should call a doctor." I felt fine. and I had no symptoms that I was aware of, but clearly he had noticed some."

The actor later added:

"And he called 911 and an ambulance came and and they carried me down the stairs of my house on a stretcher and put me in an ambulance and gave me morphine, which was interesting. I wasn't in pain. Um, I was extremely nervous because I didn't know what was going on. They didn't know I'd had a stroke and I didn't know either."

He learned he had a stroke in the emergency room of the hospital and had to learn how to speak again:

"When I was in the hospital, I was in the sort of examination room or whatever and they said, "You've had a stroke."...I had to learn how to speak again. That was very weird. I hated not being able to speak because I speak a lot."

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Ben Mankiewicz

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Today on @CBSSunday Morning, my talk with one of our time’s signature characters - and character actors - Tim Curry. 11 years after a stroke, he’s still charming, funny, and entirely fearless.

Tim Curry ended the interview with Ben Mankiewicz on the note that he would welcome death in the end and that he wanted to earn the privilege of saying goodbye to the world.

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