Louis Gilrod was born in the village of Ruizana, near Ulanov, in the Podolia/Poltava region of Ukraine.
At 12 his father brought him to the United States and left him with an uncle in Newark, New Jersey who engaged him in the hairdressing business.
[1] Two of his early successes were Got un zayn mishpet iz gerekht and Kum, Yisrolikl, aheym.
He wrote the libretto to the operetta Dos pintele yud (The essential Jew) (New York, 1909), and for The Golden Bride in 1923.
He also played small roles at the Thalia and Windsor Theatres and in vaudeville, for which he wrote one-acters.