A specialist in film comedy, Tisch has also produced the occasional dramatic feature. Maximizing the advantages of his family connections--his father Preston Tisch is president and co-chief executive of Loew's Corp. and his uncle Laurence Tisch is chairman and CEO of the board for CBS, Inc.--Tisch began his career early, working during college breaks for producers John Avildsen and Fred Weintraub. Upon graduation Peter Guber, then head of production at Columbia, signed him on as an executive assistant. Tisch produced his first feature "Outlaw Blues" (1977) at age 28 and has gone on to carve out an impressive if uneven catalogue of product. Before hitting the stratosphere with "Forrest Gump" (1994), his other unqualified hit was "Risky Business" (1983) which not only made Tom Cruise a star but introduced Rebecca DeMornay to the big screen.
Tisch has also been active on the small screen, especially after forming Tisch-Avnet Productions with Jon Avnet. The company has produced several TV-movies since the mid-1970s including the Emmy Award-winning "The Burning Bed" (1984), which reinvented Farrah Fawcett's career, and "Calendar Girl Murders" (1984), which introduced a then unknown Sharon Stone. Tisch-Avnet are also responsible for the short-lived series "Call to Glory" (1984) and "Dirty Dancing" (1988).
Just after launching his own company Steve Tisch Productions in 1985, Tisch hired business executive Wendy Finerman as vice president for production and development. Finerman discovered the galleys for Winston Groom's satirical novel "Forrest Gump" and, recognizing the book's cinematic potential, convinced Tisch to option it. Nine years later, after numerous setbacks, "Forrest Gump" (1994) became one of the highest grossing films of all time and winner of six Academy Awards.