Fodor made his solo debut with the Denver Symphony Orchestra at the age of 10, playing Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No.

[4] This award raised his profile further, as an American sharing the top Soviet prize during the height of the Cold War.

He signed a recording contract with RCA Red Seal and was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Fodor appeared on the television show SCTV on 20 November 1981 in a parody of the Joan Crawford movie Humoresque called New York Rhapsody.

After years of battling alcohol and drug addiction, Fodor died from cirrhosis in Arlington County, Virginia, on February 26, 2011, at the age of 60.