Born 10 November 1897 in Lemberg, East Galicia. 

His father (also known as Mendel Ritner, a representative of Vienna and Prague Banks in Galicia). He studied at a yeshiva and general studies with a private tutor, then worked as a bookkeeper for a short time.

After playing for a certain time with amateurs, Yakov Pryzament took him into Gimpel's troupe in 1916 as a prompter for a few days, and he made his debut as “Tzemach Lamdan” in Rakow’s “The Batlan”. He stayed with this troupe until 1918 then joined Ber Hart (his brother-in-law’s) troupe and played for one season in the province of Galicia.

In 1919 M. played for two months with the “Freye [folks] bine” and then returned to Hart’s where he stayed until 1920 and then left for America.

From 1921-22 he was engaged as an actor and lyricist by Clara Young at Brooklyn’s Liberty Theatre (especially for Rosenberg’s  “Berele Tramp”). There his play “A Bride and a Groom” (free adaptation of the German operetta “The Dutch Wife”) was performed.

In 1922, he was engaged by Elias Glickman in Chicago as actor, lyricist and played the “fixer”. Here in 1923 M.’s translation of Marianne Davies’s “Slaves” was performed by Joseph Shoengold.