Ricardo Cortez

Known for ActingBorn 1900-09-17Died 1977-04-28New York City, New York, USA

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).Read more

Movies & web series

Man Hunt

White Shoulders

Midstream

Woman of Destiny

Ladies of the Night Club

The Eagle of the Sea

Volcano

In the Name of Love

The Next Corner

Argentine Love

Sixty Cents an Hour

Inside Story

Manhattan Moon

New Orleans

New York

By Whose Hand?

The Cat's Pajamas

The Bedroom Window

This Woman

The City That Never Sleeps

Hollywood

Free, Blonde and 21

Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown

Chasing Danger

Talk of the Devil

Excess Baggage

The Spaniard

The Swan

Not So Long Ago

A Society Scandal

Children of Jazz

Complicated Women

The Last Hurrah

Frisco Kid

The Sorrows of Satan

The Californian

Her Husband Lies

The Case of the Black Cat

Postal Inspector

Hat, Coat and Glove

Hollywood Newsreel

Big Executive

Prowlers of the Sea

Feet of Clay

The Gentleman from America

The Call of the Canyon

Midnight Mary

Mockery