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

The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin

Tomorrow We Live

Gary Curtis

The Phantom of Crestwood

Nolan

The Walking Dead

Dr. Ainsley

Charlie Chan in Reno

Ricardo Cortez

Hollywood

Lawrence Marchmont

White Shoulders

Sam Spade

The Maltese Falcon

Drew Bonner

The Locket

Ziggy Cranston

Blackmail

Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells

Bunco Squad

George Kirby

Murder Over New York

Raoul Melnotte

In the Name of Love

Fabian

Mr. Moto's Last Warning

Bill Blaine

The House on 56th Street

Leo

Midnight Mary

Tony Cummings

Torch Singer

Duke York

The Inner Circle

Alexander Carston

Special Agent

Ben Weston

The Man with Two Faces

Police Sergeant Barry Clive

Thirteen Women

Sam Weinberg

The Last Hurrah

Wilson / Fritz Alden

Make Your Own Bed

Dimitri

Mockery

Goldie Gorio

Bad Company

Dutch Barnes

The Big Shakedown

George Lambert

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

Felix

Symphony of Six Million

Bradley Carlton

Ten Cents a Dance

Price Baines

Illicit

Don Arturo de Borgus

Transgression

Jeff

Montana Moon

Robert J. Clayton

Big Business Girl

Roger Phillips

I Killed That Man

Nicky

Flesh

Don Rafael Brull

Torrent

Harry

Wonder Bar

Ronnie Wales

Behind Office Doors

Johnnie

Her Man

Perry Mason

The Case of the Black Cat

The Gentleman from America

Paul Morra

Frisco Kid

Pierre Londais

I Am a Thief

Inspector Bill Davis

Postal Inspector

Robert Mitchell

Hat, Coat and Glove

Robert Delano

The Bedroom Window

Paul Wallis

The Phantom in the House

Morris Goldfish

The Younger Generation

Charles Blake

City Girl

William Poster

Is My Face Red?

Johnny Silk

Men of Chance

Geoffrey Tempest

The Sorrows of Satan

Bill Hanaway

No One Man

Gordon Creed

West of Shanghai

Jim Sundean

The White Cockatoo

John Norcross

Mystery in Mexico

Sim

Shadow of Doubt

Ricardo de Vega

Romance of the Rio Grande

Ellinger

A Lost Lady

Herman Brandt

The Firebird

Tom Armstrong

The Lost Zeppelin

Ramon Escobar

The Californian

J. Ward Thomas

Her Husband Lies

Craig Cutting

Broadway Bad

Paris

The Private Life of Helen of Troy

Tony Evans

Mandalay

Don Pedro de Barrego

The Spaniard

Captain Sazarac

The Eagle of the Sea

Dr. Walter, the Tutor

The Swan

Tony Channing

Feet of Clay

Yoanes Etchegarry

La Danseuse Orchidée

Curly

Reckless Living

Jack Weston

The Pony Express

Val D'Errico

Excess Baggage

Himself

Hollywood Newsreel

Self

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

Frank Kingman

Man Hunt

Gilin

Rubber Racketeers

Self

Breakdowns of 1936

Phillip Richards

A Shot in the Dark

Self

Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)

Ted Carter

Children of Jazz

Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)

Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown

Dan Moore

Manhattan Moon

Michael Angelo Cassidy

New York

Self

Breakdowns of 1937

Jim Morley

New Orleans

Self (archive footage)

Complicated Women

Don Arturo

The Next Corner

Anthony Pearce

Who Is Hope Schuyler?

Ray Allen

Talk of the Devil

Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs

Larry Morrison

The Call of the Canyon

The Cat's Pajamas

Whitney Duane

This Woman

James Stanwood

Midstream

Mark Saunders

World Premiere

Billy Ballard

Not So Long Ago

Harrison Peters

A Society Scandal

Victor Conway

Big Executive

Juan Martin

Argentine Love

Stéphane Séquineau

Volcano

Mark Roth

The City That Never Sleeps

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

102

Gender

Male

Birthday

1900-09-17

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

Jacob Krantz