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