Ricardo Cortez
Biography
Ricardo Cortez (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American film actor who began his career during the silent film era.
Born Jacob Krantz in New York City into a Jewish family, he worked on Wall Street in a broker's office and as a boxer before his looks got him into the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name to Cortez to appeal to film-goers as a "Latin lover" to compete with such highly popular actors of the era as Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno. When rumour began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Spanish, the studios tried to pass him off as a different type of Latin, French, before they finally admitted his (supposedly) Viennese origin.
Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon in 1930, played Sam Spade in the original The Maltese Falcon in 1931, co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown and Wonder Bar (with Al Jolson and Dolores del Río) in 1934. He also played Perry Mason in the 1936 film The Case of the Black Cat. Although he began his career playing romantic leads with actresses like Greta Garbo, when sound cinema arrived, his powerful delivery and New York accent made him an ideal villain and conman, and he switched from sex symbol to character actor.
Cortez was married to silent film actress Alma Rubens until her death of pneumonia in 1931.
When he retired from the film business, Cortez went to work as a stockbroker for Solomon Brothers on New York's Wall Street. He died in New York City in 1977 and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
He was the older brother of noted cinematographer Stanley Cortez (born Stanislaus Krantz).
Acting (100 movies)
Tomorrow We Live
1942
The Phantom of Crestwood
1932
The Walking Dead
1936
Charlie Chan in Reno
1939
Hollywood
1923
White Shoulders
1931
The Maltese Falcon
1931
The Locket
1946
Blackmail
1947
Bunco Squad
1950
Murder Over New York
1940
In the Name of Love
1925
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
1939
The House on 56th Street
1933
Midnight Mary
1933
Torch Singer
1933
The Inner Circle
1946
Special Agent
1935
The Man with Two Faces
1934
Thirteen Women
1932
The Last Hurrah
1958
Make Your Own Bed
1944
Mockery
1927
Bad Company
1931
The Big Shakedown
1934
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1936
Symphony of Six Million
1932
Ten Cents a Dance
1931
Illicit
1931
Transgression
1931
Montana Moon
1930
Big Business Girl
1931
I Killed That Man
1941
Flesh
1932
Torrent
1926
Wonder Bar
1934
Her Man
1930
Behind Office Doors
1931
The Case of the Black Cat
1936
The Gentleman from America
1923
Frisco Kid
1935
I Am a Thief
1934
Postal Inspector
1936
Hat, Coat and Glove
1934
The Bedroom Window
1924
The Phantom in the House
1929
The Younger Generation
1929
City Girl
1938
Is My Face Red?
1932
Men of Chance
1931
The Sorrows of Satan
1926
No One Man
1932
West of Shanghai
1937
The White Cockatoo
1935
Mystery in Mexico
1948
Shadow of Doubt
1935
Romance of the Rio Grande
1941
A Lost Lady
1934
The Firebird
1934
The Lost Zeppelin
1929
The Californian
1937
Her Husband Lies
1937
Broadway Bad
1933
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
1927
Mandalay
1934
The Spaniard
1925
The Eagle of the Sea
1926
The Swan
1925
Feet of Clay
1924
Woman of Destiny
1928
The Pony Express
1925
Excess Baggage
1928
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
Man Hunt
1936
Rubber Racketeers
1942
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
A Shot in the Dark
1941
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
1931
Children of Jazz
1923
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986
Manhattan Moon
1935
New York
1927
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
New Orleans
1929
Complicated Women
2003
The Next Corner
1924
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
1942
Talk of the Devil
1936
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
The Call of the Canyon
1923
The Cat's Pajamas
1926
This Woman
1924
Midstream
1929
World Premiere
1941
Not So Long Ago
1925
A Society Scandal
1924
Big Executive
1933
Argentine Love
1924
Volcano
1926
The City That Never Sleeps
1924
Directing (7 movies)
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