Goodman started out in the mailroom at WBKB-TV in Chicago, then moved on to ABC’s Wide World of Sports as a production assistant. Soon after, during the Viet Nam War, he was drafted into the Army where he was assigned to direct medical training programs. After leaving the Army, he worked for ABC Sports in New York, quickly earning his first directing assignment. Subsequently, he directed for both ABC Sports and ABC News.
In 1995, he was named Executive Director of Special Projects for ABC in charge of design and direction of special programming for News, Sports and Entertainment. In 1998, he became Vice President of Special Projects, overseeing ABC’s development of interactive television and computer-generated virtual reality sets for production. Goodman has been instrumental in a number of technological advances and industry firsts, ranging from the invention of the over-the-shoulder Quantel box to the first successful transmission of live programming from a nuclear submarine and an aircraft carrier. He also designed and built cutting-edge studios and sets, including the 4-story Times Square Studios that serves as home for ABC’s Good Morning America.
Among numerous awards and recognition, Goodman has received an Emmy Award and was nominated for a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety for his work on ABC 2000: The Millennium. In addition, he received a 1988 DGA Award nomination for The Indianapolis 500 and 2009 DGA and Emmy nominations for directing the 81st Annual Academy Awards®. In 2010, Roger Goodman received the Directors Guild of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in News Directing.