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Ricardo Cortez

Acting 76 (deceased) years old New York City, New York, USA ★ 0.5
Born: September 17, 1900
Died: April 28, 1977

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).

External Links

🎬 IMDb

Known For

The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon Sam Spade 1931
The Last Hurrah
The Last Hurrah Sam Weinberg 1958
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead Nolan 1936
The Locket
The Locket Drew Bonner 1946
Midnight Mary
Midnight Mary Leo 1933

Filmography

Acting Credits (108)

Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo Self (archive footage) 2014
Complicated Women
Complicated Women Self (archive footage) 2003
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage) 1986
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood Self 1960
The Last Hurrah
The Last Hurrah Sam Weinberg 1958
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life Self 1952
Bunco Squad
Bunco Squad Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells 1950
Mystery in Mexico
Mystery in Mexico John Norcross 1948
Blackmail
Blackmail Ziggy Cranston 1947
The Locket
The Locket Drew Bonner 1946
The Inner Circle
The Inner Circle Duke York 1946
Make Your Own Bed
Make Your Own Bed Wilson / Fritz Alden 1944
Tomorrow We Live
Tomorrow We Live The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin 1942
Rubber Racketeers
Rubber Racketeers Gilin 1942
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
Who Is Hope Schuyler? Anthony Pearce 1942
I Killed That Man
I Killed That Man Roger Phillips 1941
World Premiere
World Premiere Mark Saunders 1941
A Shot in the Dark
A Shot in the Dark Phillip Richards 1941
Romance of the Rio Grande
Romance of the Rio Grande Ricardo de Vega 1941
Murder Over New York
Murder Over New York George Kirby 1940
Charlie Chan in Reno
Charlie Chan in Reno Dr. Ainsley 1939
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Mr. Moto's Last Warning Fabian 1939
City Girl
City Girl Charles Blake 1938
Breakdowns of 1937
Breakdowns of 1937 Self 1937
West of Shanghai
West of Shanghai Gordon Creed 1937
The Californian
The Californian Ramon Escobar 1937
Her Husband Lies
Her Husband Lies J. Ward Thomas 1937
Breakdowns of 1936
Breakdowns of 1936 Self 1936
Talk of the Devil
Talk of the Devil Ray Allen 1936
The Case of the Black Cat
The Case of the Black Cat Perry Mason 1936
Postal Inspector
Postal Inspector Inspector Bill Davis 1936
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead Nolan 1936
Man Hunt
Man Hunt Frank Kingman 1936
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan George Lambert 1936
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs 1936
Frisco Kid
Frisco Kid Paul Morra 1935
Special Agent
Special Agent Alexander Carston 1935
Manhattan Moon
Manhattan Moon Dan Moore 1935
Shadow of Doubt
Shadow of Doubt Sim 1935
The White Cockatoo
The White Cockatoo Jim Sundean 1935
I Am a Thief
I Am a Thief Pierre Londais 1934
The Firebird
The Firebird Herman Brandt 1934
A Lost Lady
A Lost Lady Ellinger 1934
The Man with Two Faces
The Man with Two Faces Ben Weston 1934
Hat, Coat and Glove
Hat, Coat and Glove Robert Mitchell 1934
Wonder Bar
Wonder Bar Harry 1934
Hollywood Newsreel
Hollywood Newsreel Himself 1934
Mandalay
Mandalay Tony Evans 1934
The Big Shakedown
The Big Shakedown Dutch Barnes 1934
The House on 56th Street
The House on 56th Street Bill Blaine 1933
Big Executive
Big Executive Victor Conway 1933
Torch Singer
Torch Singer Tony Cummings 1933
Midnight Mary
Midnight Mary Leo 1933
Broadway Bad
Broadway Bad Craig Cutting 1933
Flesh
Flesh Nicky 1932
The Phantom of Crestwood
The Phantom of Crestwood Gary Curtis 1932
Thirteen Women
Thirteen Women Police Sergeant Barry Clive 1932
Is My Face Red?
Is My Face Red? William Poster 1932
Symphony of Six Million
Symphony of Six Million Felix 1932
No One Man
No One Man Bill Hanaway 1932
Men of Chance
Men of Chance Johnny Silk 1931
Reckless Living
Reckless Living Curly 1931
Bad Company
Bad Company Goldie Gorio 1931
Transgression
Transgression Don Arturo de Borgus 1931
Big Business Girl
Big Business Girl Robert J. Clayton 1931
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8) Self 1931
The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon Sam Spade 1931
White Shoulders
White Shoulders Lawrence Marchmont 1931
Behind Office Doors
Behind Office Doors Ronnie Wales 1931
Illicit
Illicit Price Baines 1931
Ten Cents a Dance
Ten Cents a Dance Bradley Carlton 1931
Her Man
Her Man Johnnie 1930
Montana Moon
Montana Moon Jeff 1930
The Lost Zeppelin
The Lost Zeppelin Tom Armstrong 1929
The Phantom in the House
The Phantom in the House Paul Wallis 1929
Midstream
Midstream James Stanwood 1929
New Orleans
New Orleans Jim Morley 1929
The Younger Generation
The Younger Generation Morris Goldfish 1929
Excess Baggage
Excess Baggage Val D'Errico 1928
Prowlers of the Sea
Prowlers of the Sea Carlos De Neve 1928
Ladies of the Night Club
Ladies of the Night Club George Merrill 1928
Woman of Destiny
Woman of Destiny Yoanes Etchegarry 1928
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
The Private Life of Helen of Troy Paris 1927
By Whose Hand?
By Whose Hand? Agent X-9 1927
Mockery
Mockery Dimitri 1927
New York
New York Michael Angelo Cassidy 1927
The Eagle of the Sea
The Eagle of the Sea Captain Sazarac 1926
The Sorrows of Satan
The Sorrows of Satan Geoffrey Tempest 1926
The Cat's Pajamas
The Cat's Pajamas 1926
Volcano
Volcano Stéphane Séquineau 1926
Torrent
Torrent Don Rafael Brull 1926
Not So Long Ago
Not So Long Ago Billy Ballard 1925
The Pony Express
The Pony Express Jack Weston 1925
In the Name of Love
In the Name of Love Raoul Melnotte 1925
The Spaniard
The Spaniard Don Pedro de Barrego 1925
The Swan
The Swan Dr. Walter, the Tutor 1925
Argentine Love
Argentine Love Juan Martin 1924
This Woman
This Woman Whitney Duane 1924
The City That Never Sleeps
The City That Never Sleeps Mark Roth 1924
Feet of Clay
Feet of Clay Tony Channing 1924
The Bedroom Window
The Bedroom Window Robert Delano 1924
A Society Scandal
A Society Scandal Harrison Peters 1924
The Next Corner
The Next Corner Don Arturo 1924
The Call of the Canyon
The Call of the Canyon Larry Morrison 1923
Hollywood
Hollywood Ricardo Cortez 1923
Children of Jazz
Children of Jazz Ted Carter 1923
Sixty Cents an Hour
Sixty Cents an Hour William Davis 1923
The Gentleman from America
The Gentleman from America 1923

Directing Credits (7)

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