Born in New York City, but raised in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Robert Fishman loved sports from a young age. He attended Boston University and became involved in television and radio. During summers, he returned to St. Thomas to work as a radio DJ while also gaining experience in television as an anchor on the weekends. After graduation, he found a job with a CBS affiliate in Philadelphia as a stagehand. He continued to work up the ladder and became a production assistant and later production associate on special events such as the 1972 Republican and Democratic National Conventions both held in Miami Beach, FL. His first big break directing came that same year during Apollo 17, which was the first night launch of a U.S. spacecraft. The scheduled director came down with food poisoning and since Fishman was the only DGA member available to direct, he stepped up at the age of 24 to direct those segments for CBS Morning News.
Over 46 years of directing, Fishman has covered numerous competitions in nearly every major sport. He directed the 1979 Daytona 500, which was the first live broadcast of the sport “flag to flag,” 37 years of Final Four NCAA basketball games, three Olympics figure skating competitions, 27 U.S. Open tennis tournaments, the 1992 and 1993 World Series, and several Belmont Stakes. In addition to sports coverage, he directed specials including Ice Wars 1, Ice Wars 2, Too Hot to Skate, Sergei Grinkov, Celebration of a Life, and Dolphins, Whales and Us.
Fishman has won 16 Emmys over his career for his work ranging from NCAA basketball games, the Daytona 500, the U.S. Open and NFL football. He has been nominated for five DGA Awards and won three for his direction on the American League Championships in 1990, the U.S. Open Tennis competition in 1989, and the Syracuse v. Indiana NCAA Basketball Championship in 1987.