P. was born in 1890 in Warsaw, Poland, into a rich, religious family. His father was the owner of a manufacturing business.

A well-read student with a serious attitude about Yiddish literature and theatre, at age sixteen he became a member of "Hazamir," and at eighteen he performed under the direction of Sh. L. Handwohl [S. Wohl] in the dramatic amateur troupe "Gordin," from which there later emerged an entire group of professional actors: Shtokfeder, Rozen, Rotman, Gutharts, Lederman, Shulveys, Mendelevitsh, Epstein, Norflus and Lampe.

After some years' time P. led a double life: at home he wore a long caftan and a black, round tukhn hitele, and in the street or across the province where he used to tour with the amateur troupe, he used to wear a short coat, a hat and a cape. The "over-clothes" used to come in a kaviarnye, from the "home" of Yiddish actors and amateurs, on Milagasse in Warsaw.

In 1912 P. left his home and included himself in Lerman's professional troupe with whom he toured across many cities in Poland, Russia and the Ukraine. Then he acted in father roles, in the troupes of Zhitomirsky, Guzik et al.

During the First World War, he returned to Warsaw, and his parents, who had earlier derveytert from him, betn themselves over to him, and came to see him act. Later he traveled again across Poland, and after the Russian Revolution also crossed Russia.