K. was born in 1892 in Warsaw, Poland, to Orthodox parents.

As a child he sang in Gozik's school, and from there through Dr. Rozental (first husband of Paula Prilutski) he was taken in, at the age of ten, to the chorus of "Shulamis" in Polish (Yiddish theatre then was forbidden.) He developed a strong desire for the stage, and when he grew up he performed together with youths in the home of a friend, "Jacob with his Son", performing as "Yakov." He took [zeyer oys] and [dos farshtarkt nokh bey] him more the will to the stage.

K. participated afterwards in the various Yiddish children's troupes on the Jewish street. After he became older, he became an employee in a bookshop. The desire for the theatre [tlyet] still took over him, and two years later he became through actor Adolph Fenigstein aroused as a professional in Tsipkus' provincial troupe, but not as an actor, but as a prompter. From there he went over to the Elizeum Theatre in Warsaw as a prompter, and afterwards toured with Rappel across Russia (often alone directing the troupe), where he lived through the pogroms and the Revolution.

In 1920 K. came to America, where he performed on the stage and also prompted. In 1927 he made, together with his wife, the soubrette  Betti Kenig, a tour across Europe, returning again to