David Belasco was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Abraham H. Belasco (1830–1911) and Reyna Belasco (née Nunes, 1830–1899), Sephardic Jews who had moved from London’s Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community during the California Gold Rush. He began working in a San Francisco theater doing a variety of routine jobs, such as call boy, script copier or as an extra in small parts. He received his first experience as a stage manager while on the road. He said, "We used to play in any place we could hire or get intoa hall, a big dining room, an empty barn; any place that would take us."