Add the word "grand" before father and son and it can be applied perfectly to the late Lew Wasserman, considered the last of the legendary movie moguls, and his grandson Casey Wasserman, who is currently chairing Los Angeles’ bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Indeed it was the older Wasserman that played the role of surrogate father to the then Casey Myers, born in 1974, who took his mother’s maiden name after his parents were divorced.

Given his grandfather's stature, the younger Wasserman had plenty of opportunities to immerse himself in the world of sport from an early age.

As well as working as a ball boy for American football franchise the Cleveland Browns, he often attended tennis' annual Wimbledon Championships with renowned American lawyer, sports agent and writer Mark McCormack, the founder and chairman of international sports and entertainment giant IMG. 

Having obtained a degree in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles and received a multi-million dollar trust fund, Wasserman paid $5 million (£3.3 million/€4.6 million) for the Los Angeles Avengers, an Arena Football League franchise.

The Avengers disbanded in 2009 amid league-wide turmoil, but by then, Wasserman had served for seven years as chairman and chief executive of Wasserman Media Group (WMG), a leading sports and entertainment firm he founded in 2002. It was the same year in which his grandfather sadly passed away. 

WMG represents brands, properties and talent on a global basis, and such is its success, it’s unsurprising that Wasserman was appointed to the LA 2024 Bid Committee by Los Angeles’ Mayor Eric Garcetti last year.

Although not originally the preferred choice of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), LA was confirmed as the United States’ candidate city in August following the collapse of Boston’s bid amid poor public support.

The following month, LA officially launched its campaign on the back of a unanimous vote by the City Council in support of the attempt to bring the Summer Games back to the US for the first time since 1996, when Atlanta played host.

LA faces competition from Budapest, Paris and Rome in the race to stage the Games with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to elect its chosen host at its Session in Lima in 2017.

And while Wasserman no longer has his grandfather by his side to offer him advice in person, that doesn't mean the man who was arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades after World War II won’t be with him every step of the way.

"There’s probably not a day that goes by that I don’t think about him or think about something he told me," Wasserman told insidethegames on a short visit to WMG's London offices. 

"He was much more than just a grandfather and father-like figure; he was sort of a mentor to me.

"He was an extraordinary man and he also happened to be an incredibly successful businessman.

"I was lucky to have him in my life in the way I did for as long as I did."

Asked if he can use what he has learned from his grandfather in his current role, Wasserman replied: "Obviously, no question; he’s the most influential person on my life."

The last time Los Angeles hosted the Olympic Games was in 1984, when Wasserman was just 10 years old. 

Widely considered as one of the most successful Olympics ever, a total of 140 countries participated across 121 medal events from July 28 to August 12.

"It combined two things that I think inspire us to do what we’re doing today, which were to inspire the magic of the Olympics and the greatness of Los Angeles," said Wasserman, who had the chance to carry the Olympic Torch before the Games. 

"And so you put those two things together for 16 days and it was an incredible, memorable and in many ways, life-changing experience [not only] for me, but I think for a lot of Angelinos.

"LA’s very proud of its Olympic heritage.

"I think LA has got a very bright future as a city and I think it’s why Angelinos are not just important, but wholeheartedly embrace our pursuit of the Olympic Games." 

Having also staged the Games in 1932, LA would become only the second city after London to host the Olympics three times if successful in its 2024 bid.

A poll carried out by the USOC in early August showed that 81 per cent of local citizens in LA supported a bid, giving it unparalleled support among the cities bidding.

Hamburg recently dropped out of the running after residents voted against the city’s candidacy at a recent referendum, continuing a growing trend in recent times.

Questioned on whether it is now harder than ever to secure the hosting rights to an Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wasserman described the process of competing and winning as a "great challenge".

"It’s an event that brings out the best in people and brings out the greatest cities in the world," he said.

"That’s a fierce competition that we’re excited to be a part of.

"LA is a passionate supporter of the Olympic Games, whether we’re fortunate enough to win or not.

"We have almost unanimous support among our people and 81 per cent approval is certainly compelling.

"We’re excited for the next two years and I’m certain we’ll be in that room in Lima, Peru competing with other cities and there will be no greater honour for our city than to host the Olympic Games in 2024."

All four remaining candidates have until February 17 next year to submit guarantee letters and other documents to the IOC, with details about venue plans as well as early proposals regarding the Olympic Village also required at that time.

Los Angeles may need to find a new site for its proposed Olympic Village as they could be priced out of their first choice.

The 125 acres of land at the LA Transportation Center had been earmarked as part of the bid, with the site lying close to the LA River, but LA 2024 admitted last month that it's looking at several other locations.

Although Wasserman was unable to offer any updates in this regard, he insists the Bid Committee is "doing exactly what we should be doing".

"I think we’re doing exactly what we should be doing," he said.

"We’re getting ready for our first submission in February.

"I think that’s tracking very well and we’re working hard to make sure people start to know a little bit about us and who we are and what we stand for.

"That’s a two year process obviously, so we’re in the early days of that.

"But I think we’ve had a good first quarter, if you will, to that process."

Earlier this month, Olympic kayaker Tamara Christopherson was appointed as LA 2024’s associate director of athlete relations.

Christopherson, a silver medallist at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, will work closely alongside Bid Committee vice-chair and four-time Olympic swimming champion Janet Evans in ensuring athletes have a voice.

She represented her country at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and is currently President of the Southern California Olympians and Paralympians, which has a membership of around 800 athletes.

The announcement came after LA 2024 had strengthened its Bid Committee by securing the services of financial expert Gene Sykes as its unpaid chief executive last month.

Sykes, who has held several titles within investment banking giants Goldman Sachs, undertook the full-time position with immediate effect and is working closely alongside Wasserman.

"In any kind of work environment, you need people who compliment your skills and share a vision," said Wasserman of the appointment of Sykes, who is tasked with aiding the day-to-day running of LA's bid.   

"Gene’s successes and talents are well-chronicled and the ability to have him as the day-to-day leader of the bid is an extraordinary thing for LA and for our bid.

"He brings a different perspective which is important and I think he and I together will make a great team going forward for the next two years, so, we’re excited.

"We need a team of people because it’s a big job and a big responsibility and we take that really seriously, and so we want to have the absolute best people that we can attract to pursue this opportunity."

The appointment of Christopherson also follows basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson and trade union leader María Elena Durazo joining LA 2024 as vice-chairs.

As one of the most well-known figures in basketball, Johnson has won the NBA title five times with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Olympic gold medal with America's so called "Dream Team" at Barcelona 1992.

The hall-of-famer became an entrepreneur, philanthropist and motivational speaker after his retirement from the sport, and the 56-year-old is currently chairman and chief executive of Magic Johnson Enterprises, which provides services and products to ethnically diverse communities.

Meanwhile, Durazo has been described as "one of the most savvy and successful labour and immigrant rights leaders in America".

She is currently the vice-president for Immigration, Civil Rights and Diversity for UNITE-HERE union, which represents workers in textile industries, and she previously led the second largest central labour body in the country, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labour.

Wasserman welcomed the appointments of both Johnson and Durazo, describing the former as one of LA’s most successful business leaders.

Ranking highly in the pecking order would be Wasserman himself, and it only requires a quick browse around WMG's website, accessible here, to see why.

It doesn’t take long to realise the sheer scope of the business and the high-level clientèle it is dealing with, including one of the biggest sporting money-spinners on the planet; the English Premier League.

Representing more than 500 professional players across Europe’s top leagues and the US’ Major League Soccer, WMG's Global Football Division advises a wide range of clubs and rights holders on revenue-generating opportunities such as naming rights, shirt sponsorship, tours and player image rights.

Wasserman spoke of a "good history of relationships" between WMG and Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, who took up his current role in June 2014 having previously served as chief executive from November 1999.

"I’m a big believer that the sports business is global and it would be a mistake to sit in my office in Los Angeles and think that the world revolves around the United States," he said.

"And so, we’ve never had that approach in the 13 years we’ve been doing this.

"As such soccer or football is the biggest sport in the world and if you want to be a meaningful company in the business of sport, you better be in the sport of football.

"And having said that, today the Premier League is the biggest league in the biggest sport in the world and so we’re very proud of our strength in the Premier League.

"We’re by far the biggest football agent in the world and we have great relationships on the team side."

As if juggling his commitments with WMG and LA 2024 wasn’t enough, Wasserman is also the President and chief executive of the Wasserman Foundation, which was founded in 1952 by his grandparents and currently funds in the areas of education, arts and culture, health, service and global initiatives. 

Furthermore, Wasserman serves on the board of directors of video game publisher Activision and digital media company, Vox Media.

It’s this sort of all-round pedigree, reminiscent of his grandfather’s, that should stand LA in extremely good stead as the city looks to end what would be the US’s 28-year hiatus from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Paris may be the favourites, but if Wasserman has anything to do with it, LA 2024 will do everything it can to get over that coveted line.

Chairing an Olympic bid on top of what is already an extremely busy schedule can’t be easy, especially when also trying to find time to spend time with his wife and two children.

But if there were any doubts about Wasserman’s focus on LA’s efforts, they were surely put to bed within one sentence during a recent interview with the LA Times.

"If we lose this bid because people think I wasn't committed enough, then shame on me," he told the newspaper.

I’d say that’s pretty conclusive.