He had written for the television series The Big Story, Naked City, The Doctors and the Nurses, East Side/West Side and N.Y.P.D., which he created with David Susskind.
Perl first made a name for himself in the mid-1950s when he published three one-act plays based on works by Sholem Aleichem, who died in 1916 (A Tale of Schelm, Bontche Schweig, and The High School), which he published under the title The World of Sholom Aleichem which dealt with the life of Russian Jews.
This Perl work also features the character Tevye, the milkman, who was finally memorialized in 1964 with the musical Fiddler on the Roof.
Perl's play premiered at the Carnegie Hall Playhouse in January 1957 and received good reviews.
[3] Perl also co-wrote the screenplay for Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), actor Ossie Davis' film directing debut.