[1] Robert Riskin was born on New York City's Lower East side to Jewish parents, Bessie and Jakob, who had emigrated from Tsarist Russia to escape conscription.

An enthusiast of the vaudeville stage, the teen-age Riskin took every opportunity to sneak into the theatre and catch the shows.

[2] At the end of the war, Riskin returned to New York City, where, in partnership with a friend, he found some success in producing plays for Broadway.

[1] Riskin continued his Broadway career until the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression caused many theatres to close.

Motion pictures had just adopted sound, and writers were needed who could write dialogue and were experienced with stage work.

Deeds Goes to Town (1936) with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur; You Can't Take It with You (1938) with Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart; and Here Comes the Groom (1951) with Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman.

[1] Riskin returned to Hollywood in 1945, with the screenplay for The Thin Man Goes Home[1] He had an uncredited collaboration on the 1946 film noir classic The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

Their first film, the minor James Stewart hit Magic Town (1946), was written and produced by Riskin, who also directed initially.

Riskin directed only one entire film, When You're in Love (1937), a minor musical starring Grace Moore and Cary Grant.

Unsuccessful at the box office, When You're in Love is now remembered (if at all) for an unusual publicity stunt: silent film-star Louise Brooks was given a chance at a comeback by appearing as a chorus girl in this movie.

The protagonists of the Capra-Riskin films were described as "Capra’s Heroes", when in fact they were more a product of Riskin's ideology and social conscience.

Long time friend and screenwriting colleague Jo Swerling and his wife remained devoted visitors.

The Los Angeles Examiner covered Riskin's funeral in September 1955, describing the "notables" in attendance.

A biography by Ian Scott, In Capra's Shadow: The Life and Career of Screenwriter Robert Riskin, was published in 2006 by the University Press of Kentucky.