Ricardo Cortez

Acting · 0.7 popularity

Age

125

Movies

107

Born: September 17, 1900 – April 28, 1977
From: New York City, New York, USA

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).

Works

107 films

Woman of Destiny

192810.0

A Lost Lady

19345.8

The Last Hurrah

19587.2

Hollywood Newsreel

19347.0

The Locket

19466.3

Special Agent

19356.2

Complicated Women

20036.9

The Walking Dead

19366.3

Breakdowns of 1936

1936

Her Man

19305.2

New York

19279.0

Manhattan Moon

19359.0

Wonder Bar

19346.0

The Spaniard

19258.0

Mr. Moto's Last Warning

19395.7

Ten Cents a Dance

19316.8

White Shoulders

193110.0

The Inner Circle

19465.7

The Maltese Falcon

19316.4

The Californian

19377.0

Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs

19364.7

Big Business Girl

19316.8

Breakdowns of 1937

19376.0

Argentine Love

192410.0

In the Name of Love

192510.0

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood

19606.0

City Girl

19386.5

Torrent

19266.7

Men of Chance

19316.0

Her Husband Lies

19377.0

The Swan

19258.0

Midnight Mary

19336.8

Charlie Chan in Reno

19396.5

Make Your Own Bed

19446.0

The Big Shakedown

19345.9

Frisco Kid

19357.0

Midstream

192910.0

Torch Singer

19335.3

This Woman

19249.0

A Society Scandal

19248.0

Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo

20143.0

I Am a Thief

19346.2

Prowlers of the Sea

19285.0

Hollywood

19239.0

Murder Over New York

19406.2

Flesh

19325.8

Talk of the Devil

19368.0

Montana Moon

19304.7

Behind Office Doors

19314.9

Thirteen Women

19326.4

Mystery in Mexico

19486.0

Excess Baggage

19288.0

The Lost Zeppelin

19295.8

The Phantom of Crestwood

19325.9

The Sorrows of Satan

19267.2

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

19365.8

Sixty Cents an Hour

192310.0

Bunco Squad

19506.1

By Whose Hand?

19279.0

Man Hunt

193610.0

Rubber Racketeers

19425.5

The Bedroom Window

19249.0

The House on 56th Street

19335.3

Postal Inspector

19367.0

Ladies of the Night Club

192810.0

No One Man

19326.5

Blackmail

19474.2

The Man with Two Faces

19346.8

Mockery

19276.9

Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)

19316.0

The Case of the Black Cat

19367.0

Illicit

19315.7

The Younger Generation

19296.9

The Firebird

19346.4

Who Is Hope Schuyler?

19424.5

The White Cockatoo

19355.9

Transgression

19314.3

I Killed That Man

19416.7

Mandalay

19345.8

West of Shanghai

19375.8

The Eagle of the Sea

192610.0

The Pony Express

19256.4

Romance of the Rio Grande

19414.7

Symphony of Six Million

19325.7

Broadway Bad

19335.3

Reckless Living

19314.3

The Private Life of Helen of Troy

19274.4

Shadow of Doubt

19356.6

Feet of Clay

19247.0

Not So Long Ago

19258.0

Hat, Coat and Glove

19347.0

A Shot in the Dark

19415.7

Tomorrow We Live

19424.9

Bad Company

19315.0

Is My Face Red?

19325.0

Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown

19868.0

Volcano

192610.0

The Gentleman from America

19237.0

World Premiere

19416.0

Children of Jazz

19238.0

The Next Corner

192410.0

Big Executive

19337.0

The Phantom in the House

19294.4

The Cat's Pajamas

19269.0

The City That Never Sleeps

19249.0

New Orleans

19299.0

The Call of the Canyon

19237.0