Known For
Acting
Born
Sep 17, 1900
Died
Apr 28, 1977
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Credits
115 titles
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).
Known For
Filmography
Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
Self (archive footage)
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Self
The Last Hurrah
Sam Weinberg
This Is Your Life
Self
Bunco Squad
Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
Mystery in Mexico
John Norcross
Blackmail
Ziggy Cranston
The Locket
Drew Bonner
The Inner Circle
Duke York
Make Your Own Bed
Wilson / Fritz Alden
Tomorrow We Live
The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
Rubber Racketeers
Gilin
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
Anthony Pearce
I Killed That Man
Roger Phillips
World Premiere
Mark Saunders
A Shot in the Dark
Phillip Richards
Romance of the Rio Grande
Ricardo de Vega
Murder Over New York
George Kirby
Girl in 313
Director
Free, Blonde and 21
Director
City of Chance
Director
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
Director
The Escape
Director
Charlie Chan in Reno
Dr. Ainsley
Chasing Danger
Director
Inside Story
Director
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Fabian
City Girl
Charles Blake
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
West of Shanghai
Gordon Creed
The Californian
Ramon Escobar
Her Husband Lies
J. Ward Thomas
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
Talk of the Devil
Ray Allen
The Case of the Black Cat
Perry Mason
Postal Inspector
Inspector Bill Davis
The Walking Dead
Nolan
Man Hunt
Frank Kingman
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
George Lambert
Frisco Kid
Paul Morra
Special Agent
Alexander Carston
Manhattan Moon
Dan Moore
Shadow of Doubt
Sim
The White Cockatoo
Jim Sundean
I Am a Thief
Pierre Londais
The Firebird
Herman Brandt
A Lost Lady
Ellinger