Born in Berlin, Davidson emigrated to the United States in the 1890s where he began working in stock theater and vaudeville. He entered silent movies in 1912. He made a series of films featuring the character Izzy for Reliance Pictures Company in 1914. The films included "Izzy Gets the Wrong Bottle", "Izzy and His Rival", "Izzy and the Diamond", "How Izzy Stuck to His Post", "How Izzy Was Saved", "Izzy, the Detective", "Izzy's Night Out", "Izzy, the Operator", and "Izzy and the Bandit".