N. was born in December 1874
in Minsk, White Russia, to intelligent, well-to-do
parents. At the age of twelve, N. completed the city
school, and then he learned languages privately.
In 1886 he immigrated with
his family to America, and here N. learned in a public
school and also privately.
At the age of seventeen N.
by chance became familiar with a group of youngsters of
a dramatic association, and his first performance there
was in Hermalin's play "Der umgliklekher yetume". There
developed in him a deep desire for the stage and,
against the wishes of his parents, he left home in 1893.
He almost was able to act unhindered in Yiddish theatre.
Having the opportunity to act in Chicago with Kessler,
Feinman and Lipzin, he came back to New York in 1894 and
entered into Adler's trope in the Rumanian Opera House.
In the same year N. traveled
by chance to London and there he was the first to act in
Yiddish theatre in the Standard Theatre.
In 1896-7 he acted under
several directors in Antwerp, Belgium, later in Paris
and then again in England.
In 1898 N. became engaged by
I. B. Gimpel for Lemberg, and from there he traveled
together with Avraham Axelrad to Budapest and across the
Hungarian province. Then he became a partner with Tanzman and Bergman across Galicia and |