Swarthy, pock-marked, cadaverous-looking character actor, born in Lebanon to Russian immigrants. In Hollywood from 1915 after a stint in Canada, he acquired his niche playing sinister Indians and cold-blooded killers in westerns and serials. During the silent period, he worked variously at Universal, Paramount, Vitagraph and First National. From the 1930's, he was often seen in films for Columbia, Universal, Fox, Tiffany-Stahl and RKO.
