Fiske was born in
Harrison, New York, an affluent suburb in
Westchester County just thirty minutes from New York City. The second of three sons of the wealthy hotel owner Lyman Fiske and his wife Jennie Maria (Durfee) Fiske, both of seventeenth-century Massachusetts descent, Fiske was still a young boy when his family moved into New York City, and he maintained a strong identity as a New Yorker for much of his life. As a young boy, Fiske was educated by private tutors and showed a strong interest in the arts. He recalled being taken to see his first play at
Barnum's Museum at an early age and afterwards receiving the gift of a puppet theatre from his father. Later, whilst attending Mrs. Vanderhoff's School he became exposed to
Shakespeare through dramatic readings given by the headmistress's husband. Likewise, he had also been giving a small printing press and, as a boy, he had begun printing his own monthly paper. Fiske next enrolled at
Dr. Chapin's Collegiate School for Boys, a college preparatory school on
Madison Avenue where he continued to pursue writing. Upon finishing there, he traveled for a summer in Europe and then entered
New York University in 1878. There he was asked to sign a pledge to forsake dens of iniquity like theaters, taverns, dance halls, and billiard rooms. Fiske subsequently admitted that he and his friends kept their fingers crossed when it came to attending theaters. At college, Fiske often wrote short stories and sketches for magazines and soon became an editorial writer and dramatic critic for the daily newspaper the
Jersey City Argus. He later served in a similar capacity for the
New York Star, which set the stage in 1879 for what would turn out to be a 32-year affiliation with the popular
trade magazine the
New York Dramatic Mirror. After achieving success as a contributor to the
Dramatic Mirror, Fiske decided to leave college after his freshman year with hopes of becoming a journalist. At his behest, Fiske's father bought an interest in the
Dramatic Mirror, and made his son (then eighteen) the editor. In 1883 Fiske assumed a controlling interest in the
Mirror and by 1888 was sole owner of the Mirror Newspaper Company. With an inside look into the theatrical profession, Fiske's view of the arts changed dramatically. He was continually distressed by the plight of out-of-work actors and by the "laissez-faire practices of the American stage." Fiske determined to turn the
Dramatic Mirror into a sort of artistic and professional conscience for the American theater, writing editorials on not only the aesthetic merits of theatrical productions, but also the improvement of working conditions and the regulation of health hazards in theaters. Though he disapproved of industry efforts to organize an actors' union, Fiske did help to secure the passage of the Cummings Act of 1896 and subsequent laws to protect playwrights against literary piracy. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the
Actors' Fund of America. With the help of his wife, the celebrated actress
Minnie Maddern, as well as the likes of
David Belasco,
Sarah Bernhardt and the
Shubert family staged a coup on the
Theatrical Syndicate, helping to break the stranglehold they had maintained on theater bookings from coast to coast. ==Marriage==