Born on 7 April 1891 in Baalitsk, Kurland. His father was a melamed (teacher). He completed a middle school, sang with a cantor and from childhood had a desire for the stage.

In 1918 N. went into the Moscow Yiddish Theatre Studio, which had in 1920 united with Granovsky's studio and transformed into the "Moscow Yiddish State Theatre", in which he has acted until today and with whom he also had gone on a European tour with.

Sh. E. through Benjamin Zuskin.