Born in April 1869 in Iasi, Romania, to poor, Orthodox parents. At the age of seven he sang with a cantor.

Remaining a [round=keylekhdiker] orphan and possessing a beautiful voice, S. entered into the chorus of a Yiddish theatre, where he acted in children's roles. His first role as an adult was "Binyamin" in Goldfaden's "Podriatshik" and since then he has acted in comical roles, especially women's roles.

During the first years he acted with various troupes in Romania under the the worse material circumstances and then the [stubborness=ekshnutdik] not [opgetrotn] of Yiddish theatre.

From Romania S. traveled with a Yiddish troupe across Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria.

In 1901 he came to America and began to act in New York's Variety Eldorado. Later he became a member in the Actor's Union and acted first in comical legitimate Yiddish theatre across America and Canada. He also was for one-and-a-half years the director of a Yiddish troupe in Cleveland.

In 1930-31 he was engaged as a stage manager and episodic actor in the Bronx's Prospect Theatre. In 1931-32 he was in Canada, and in 1932-33 he was in Philadelphia's Arch Street Theatre.