Ricardo Cortez (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American film actor who began his career during the silent film era.
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: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0007220
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2033544
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Filmography (Movies)
Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:11/06/2014
Complicated Women
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:06/05/2003
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
Character:Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/1986
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Character:Self
Release Date:10/01/1960
The Last Hurrah
Character:Sam Weinberg
Release Date:31/12/1958
Bunco Squad
Character:Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
Release Date:01/09/1950
Mystery in Mexico
Character:John Norcross
Release Date:21/08/1948
Blackmail
Character:Ziggy Cranston
Release Date:24/07/1947
The Locket
Character:Drew Bonner
Release Date:20/12/1946
The Inner Circle
Character:Duke York
Release Date:07/08/1946
Make Your Own Bed
Character:Wilson / Fritz Alden
Release Date:10/06/1944
Tomorrow We Live
Character:The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
Release Date:23/09/1942
Rubber Racketeers
Character:Gilin
Release Date:26/06/1942
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
Character:Anthony Pearce
Release Date:17/04/1942
I Killed That Man
Character:Roger Phillips
Release Date:28/11/1941
World Premiere
Character:Mark Saunders
Release Date:21/08/1941
A Shot in the Dark
Character:Phillip Richards
Release Date:05/04/1941
Romance of the Rio Grande
Character:Ricardo de Vega
Release Date:17/01/1941
Murder Over New York
Character:George Kirby
Release Date:13/12/1940
Charlie Chan in Reno
Character:Dr. Ainsley
Release Date:16/06/1939
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Character:Fabian
Release Date:20/01/1939
City Girl
Character:Charles Blake
Release Date:07/01/1938
Breakdowns of 1937
Character:Self
Release Date:31/12/1937
West of Shanghai
Character:Gordon Creed
Release Date:30/10/1937
The Californian
Character:Ramon Escobar
Release Date:18/07/1937
Her Husband Lies
Character:J. Ward Thomas
Release Date:13/03/1937
Breakdowns of 1936
Character:Self
Release Date:30/12/1936
Talk of the Devil
Character:Ray Allen
Release Date:09/12/1936
The Case of the Black Cat
Character:Perry Mason
Release Date:31/10/1936
Postal Inspector
Character:Inspector Bill Davis
Release Date:16/08/1936
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
Character:
Release Date:05/08/1936
The Walking Dead
Character:Nolan
Release Date:29/02/1936
Man Hunt
Character:Frank Kingman
Release Date:29/01/1936
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
Character:George Lambert
Release Date:11/01/1936
Frisco Kid
Character:Paul Morra
Release Date:30/11/1935
Special Agent
Character:Alexander Carston
Release Date:14/09/1935
Manhattan Moon
Character:Dan Moore
Release Date:01/07/1935
Shadow of Doubt
Character:Sim
Release Date:15/02/1935
The White Cockatoo
Character:Jim Sundean
Release Date:29/01/1935
I Am a Thief
Character:Pierre Londais
Release Date:24/11/1934
The Firebird
Character:Herman Brandt
Release Date:03/11/1934
A Lost Lady
Character:Ellinger
Release Date:29/09/1934
The Man with Two Faces
Character:Ben Weston
Release Date:04/08/1934
Hat, Coat and Glove
Character:Robert Mitchell
Release Date:26/07/1934
Wonder Bar
Character:Harry
Release Date:31/03/1934
Hollywood Newsreel
Character:Himself
Release Date:24/03/1934
Mandalay
Character:Tony Evans
Release Date:10/02/1934
The Big Shakedown
Character:Dutch Barnes
Release Date:06/01/1934
The House on 56th Street
Character:Bill Blaine
Release Date:23/12/1933
Big Executive
Character:Victor Conway
Release Date:19/10/1933
Torch Singer
Character:Tony Cummings
Release Date:08/09/1933
Midnight Mary
Character:Leo
Release Date:30/06/1933
Broadway Bad
Character:Craig Cutting
Release Date:24/02/1933
Flesh
Character:Nicky
Release Date:08/12/1932
The Phantom of Crestwood
Character:Gary Curtis
Release Date:14/10/1932
Thirteen Women
Character:Police Sergeant Barry Clive
Release Date:16/09/1932
Is My Face Red?
Character:William Poster
Release Date:17/06/1932
Symphony of Six Million
Character:Felix
Release Date:29/04/1932
No One Man
Character:Bill Hanaway
Release Date:22/01/1932
Men of Chance
Character:Johnny Silk
Release Date:26/12/1931
Reckless Living
Character:Curly
Release Date:20/10/1931
Bad Company
Character:Goldie Gorio
Release Date:16/10/1931
Transgression
Character:Don Arturo de Borgus
Release Date:27/06/1931
Big Business Girl
Character:Robert J. Clayton
Release Date:12/06/1931
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
Character:Self
Release Date:01/06/1931
The Maltese Falcon
Character:Sam Spade
Release Date:23/05/1931
White Shoulders
Character:Lawrence Marchmont
Release Date:17/05/1931
Behind Office Doors
Character:Ronnie Wales
Release Date:15/03/1931
Illicit
Character:Price Baines
Release Date:14/02/1931
Ten Cents a Dance
Character:Bradley Carlton
Release Date:30/01/1931
Her Man
Character:Johnnie
Release Date:21/09/1930
Montana Moon
Character:Jeff
Release Date:20/03/1930
The Lost Zeppelin
Character:Tom Armstrong
Release Date:19/12/1929
The Phantom in the House
Character:Paul Wallis
Release Date:20/10/1929
Midstream
Character:James Stanwood
Release Date:29/07/1929
New Orleans
Character:Jim Morley
Release Date:01/06/1929
The Younger Generation
Character:Morris Goldfish
Release Date:04/03/1929
Excess Baggage
Character:Val D'Errico
Release Date:28/09/1928
Prowlers of the Sea
Character:Carlos De Neve
Release Date:20/06/1928
Ladies of the Night Club
Character:George Merrill
Release Date:15/05/1928
Woman of Destiny
Character:Yoanes Etchegarry
Release Date:29/04/1928
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
Character:Paris
Release Date:09/12/1927
Mockery
Character:Dimitri
Release Date:13/08/1927
New York
Character:Michael Angelo Cassidy
Release Date:30/01/1927
The Eagle of the Sea
Character:Captain Sazarac
Release Date:17/10/1926
The Sorrows of Satan
Character:Geoffrey Tempest
Release Date:12/10/1926
The Cat's Pajamas
Character:
Release Date:29/08/1926
Volcano
Character:Stéphane Séquineau
Release Date:23/05/1926
Torrent
Character:Don Rafael Brull
Release Date:21/02/1926
Not So Long Ago
Character:Billy Ballard
Release Date:07/09/1925
The Pony Express
Character:Jack Weston
Release Date:03/09/1925
In the Name of Love
Character:Raoul Melnotte
Release Date:10/08/1925
The Spaniard
Character:Don Pedro de Barrego
Release Date:04/05/1925
The Swan
Character:Dr. Walter, the Tutor
Release Date:16/02/1925
Argentine Love
Character:Juan Martin
Release Date:22/12/1924
This Woman
Character:Whitney Duane
Release Date:02/11/1924
The City That Never Sleeps
Character:Mark Roth
Release Date:29/09/1924
Feet of Clay
Character:Tony Channing
Release Date:27/09/1924
The Bedroom Window
Character:Robert Delano
Release Date:08/06/1924
A Society Scandal
Character:Harrison Peters
Release Date:09/03/1924
The Next Corner
Character:Don Arturo
Release Date:18/02/1924
The Call of the Canyon
Character:Larry Morrison
Release Date:16/12/1923
Hollywood
Character:Ricardo Cortez
Release Date:19/08/1923
Children of Jazz
Character:Ted Carter
Release Date:08/07/1923
Sixty Cents an Hour
Character:William Davis
Release Date:13/05/1923
The Gentleman from America
Character:
Release Date:19/02/1923
Television Appearances
Images
