Мнимый больной
In 1917 he gave his debut as a theatre actor at the Schauspielhaus in Berlin and from 1918 to 1920 continued his career at the Hamburg Kammerspiele. Back in Berlin he performed in avant-garde plays by Carl Sternheim, as well as in several revue entertainments and kabarett venues. Later he returned to classical theatre with engagements at the Deutsches Theater and the Lessing Theater, performing as "The Imaginary Invalid", "Mephistopheles", but also as "Captain of Köpenick" or as "Meckie Messer" in Brecht's "Threepenny Opera".