Ricardo Cortez
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).
108 acting credits · 7 directing credits
Acting · 108
This Is Your Life
1952
The Walking Dead
1936
The Last Hurrah
1958
Complicated Women
2003
Murder Over New York
1940
The Locket
1946
Midnight Mary
1933
World Premiere
1941
Hollywood
1923
Frisco Kid
1935
Special Agent
1935
Blackmail
1947
Torrent
1926
Torch Singer
1933
Mockery
1927
The Maltese Falcon
1931
Illicit
1931
Thirteen Women
1932
Big Executive
1933
Mystery in Mexico
1948
The Inner Circle
1946
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
The Man with Two Faces
1934
Charlie Chan in Reno
1939
The Younger Generation
1929
The House on 56th Street
1933
Bad Company
1931
Wonder Bar
1934
Mandalay
1934
Shadow of Doubt
1935
Midstream
1929
Bunco Squad
1950
Hat, Coat and Glove
1934
Flesh
1932
A Lost Lady
1934
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
1927
Man Hunt
1936
Ten Cents a Dance
1931
The Firebird
1934
Transgression
1931
I Am a Thief
1934
The City That Never Sleeps
1924
Rubber Racketeers
1942
The Swan
1925
White Shoulders
1931
The Big Shakedown
1934
Postal Inspector
1936
Behind Office Doors
1931
Her Man
1930
City Girl
1938
Breakdowns of 1936
1936
Feet of Clay
1924
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
1931
Big Business Girl
1931
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1936
Hollywood Newsreel
1934
Symphony of Six Million
1932
This Woman
1924
The Pony Express
1925
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
The Californian
1937
Reckless Living
1931
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
1939
Volcano
1926
Her Husband Lies
1937
The Case of the Black Cat
1936
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986
A Society Scandal
1924
West of Shanghai
1937
Is My Face Red?
1932
The Sorrows of Satan
1926
No One Man
1932
Make Your Own Bed
1944
Tomorrow We Live
1942
I Killed That Man
1941
Manhattan Moon
1935
The Lost Zeppelin
1929
The Phantom of Crestwood
1932
Broadway Bad
1933
New Orleans
1929
Romance of the Rio Grande
1941
Montana Moon
1930
Talk of the Devil
1936
New York
1927
The Call of the Canyon
1923
Argentine Love
1924
The Eagle of the Sea
1926
A Shot in the Dark
1941
In the Name of Love
1925
The Cat's Pajamas
1926
The Gentleman from America
1923
The White Cockatoo
1935
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
1942
The Next Corner
1924
Not So Long Ago
1925
Excess Baggage
1928
Children of Jazz
1923
Woman of Destiny
1928
Sixty Cents an Hour
1923
The Spaniard
1925
The Phantom in the House
1929
Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
2014
The Bedroom Window
1924
Men of Chance
1931
Prowlers of the Sea
1928
Ladies of the Night Club
1928
By Whose Hand?
1927
