[3][4] Born in Hamilton, Ohio to German immigrants Charles Schable and Mary Hesterberg,[5][6] Schable was a stage performer with the Charles Frohman company in the 1890s,[7] and a stage manager with John Drew Jr. in the decade following that.

[8] He began in silent films in 1919,[7] often playing comedic, character parts or men with a European flair.

Broadway shows in which Schable appeared included On With the Dance (1917), The Fallen Idol (1915), Inconstant George (1909), Jack Straw (1908), De Lancey (1905), The Duke of Killicrankie (1904), Captain Dieppe (1903), The Mummy and the Humming Bird (1903), The Mummy and the Humming Bird (1902), The Second in Command (1901), Richard Carvel (1900), Beau Brummell (1899), Cyrano de Bergerac (1899), and The Man of Destiny (1899).

[11][12] On July 3, 1947, Schable, despondent over his worsening health and residing at the Virginia Rest Home at 2120 North Vermont Avenue in Hollywood, was found by a nurse in the bathroom of his apartment, dead, having slashed his throat with a razor.

His estate, valued at $5,000, was divided between personal friends and an assortment of theatrical benefit organizations.