Born as the son of the accountant David Cohn (1855-1910) and his wife Clara Helene Cohn née Czempin, he began his studies in Munich in 1906 and moved to Berlin. From 1908 he studied art history and classical archeology in Vienna. There he received his philosophy doctorate in 1911. With Marie Borchardt he founded the Protection Association of Stage Members.

From his debut in a Viennese production in 1912 to 1923 he acted in over twenty silent films. During this time he was friends with the communist author and director Gustav von Wangenheim and was a member of his acting troupe. From around 1930 he worked for the communist "Red Block" in Berlin. For political reasons he later emigrated to Tel Aviv , where he became a co-owner of the large lamp shop "Goldschmidt und Schwabe". He also partially financed the magazine "Orient". In Tel Aviv he was known as a "brilliant reciter" who also recited Bertolt Brecht's poems "with fire and enthusiasm". After 1945 he emigrated again, this time to the USA, where he died at the age of 87.