Ricardo Cortez
Born
September 17, 1900
Died
April 28, 1977 (76 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
New 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).
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
2003
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
1986
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Self
1960
The Last Hurrah
Sam Weinberg
1958
This Is Your Life
Self · (1 episode)
1952
Bunco Squad
Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
1950
Mystery in Mexico
John Norcross
1948
Blackmail
Ziggy Cranston
1947
The Locket
Drew Bonner
1946
The Inner Circle
Duke York
1946
Make Your Own Bed
Wilson / Fritz Alden
1944
Tomorrow We Live
The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
1942
Rubber Racketeers
Gilin
1942
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
Anthony Pearce
1942
I Killed That Man
Roger Phillips
1941
World Premiere
Mark Saunders
1941
A Shot in the Dark
Phillip Richards
1941
Romance of the Rio Grande
Ricardo de Vega
1941
Murder Over New York
George Kirby
1940
Charlie Chan in Reno
Dr. Ainsley
1939
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Fabian
1939
City Girl
Charles Blake
1938
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
1937
West of Shanghai
Gordon Creed
1937
The Californian
Ramon Escobar
1937
Her Husband Lies
J. Ward Thomas
1937
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
1936
Talk of the Devil
Ray Allen
1936
The Case of the Black Cat
Perry Mason
1936
Postal Inspector
Inspector Bill Davis
1936
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
The Walking Dead
Nolan
1936
Man Hunt
Frank Kingman
1936
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
George Lambert
1936
Frisco Kid
Paul Morra
1935
Special Agent
Alexander Carston
1935
Manhattan Moon
Dan Moore
1935
Shadow of Doubt
Sim
1935
The White Cockatoo
Jim Sundean
1935
I Am a Thief
Pierre Londais
1934
The Firebird
Herman Brandt
1934
A Lost Lady
Ellinger
1934
The Man with Two Faces
Ben Weston
1934
Hat, Coat and Glove
Robert Mitchell
1934
Wonder Bar
Harry
1934
Hollywood Newsreel
Himself
1934
Mandalay
Tony Evans
1934
The Big Shakedown
Dutch Barnes
1934
The House on 56th Street
Bill Blaine
1933
Big Executive
Victor Conway
1933
Torch Singer
Tony Cummings
1933
Midnight Mary
Leo
1933
Broadway Bad
Craig Cutting
1933
Flesh
Nicky
1932
The Phantom of Crestwood
Gary Curtis
1932
Thirteen Women
Police Sergeant Barry Clive
1932
Is My Face Red?
William Poster
1932
Symphony of Six Million
Felix
1932
No One Man
Bill Hanaway
1932
Men of Chance
Johnny Silk
1931
Reckless Living
Curly
1931
Bad Company
Goldie Gorio
1931
Transgression
Don Arturo de Borgus
1931
Big Business Girl
Robert J. Clayton
1931
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
Self
1931
The Maltese Falcon
Sam Spade
1931
White Shoulders
Lawrence Marchmont
1931
Behind Office Doors
Ronnie Wales
1931
Illicit
Price Baines
1931
Ten Cents a Dance
Bradley Carlton
1931
Her Man
Johnnie
1930
Montana Moon
Jeff
1930
The Lost Zeppelin
Tom Armstrong
1929
The Phantom in the House
Paul Wallis
1929
Midstream
James Stanwood
1929
New Orleans
Jim Morley
1929
The Younger Generation
Morris Goldfish
1929
Excess Baggage
Val D'Errico
1928
Woman of Destiny
Yoanes Etchegarry
1928
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
Paris
1927
Mockery
Dimitri
1927
New York
Michael Angelo Cassidy
1927
The Eagle of the Sea
Captain Sazarac
1926
The Sorrows of Satan
Geoffrey Tempest
1926
The Cat's Pajamas
1926
Volcano
Stéphane Séquineau
1926
Torrent
Don Rafael Brull
1926
Not So Long Ago
Billy Ballard
1925
The Pony Express
Jack Weston
1925
In the Name of Love
Raoul Melnotte
1925
The Spaniard
Don Pedro de Barrego
1925
The Swan
Dr. Walter, the Tutor
1925
Argentine Love
Juan Martin
1924
This Woman
Whitney Duane
1924
Feet of Clay
Tony Channing
1924
The Bedroom Window
Robert Delano
1924
A Society Scandal
Harrison Peters
1924
The Next Corner
Don Arturo
1924
The Call of the Canyon
Larry Morrison
1923
Hollywood
Ricardo Cortez
1923
Children of Jazz
Ted Carter
1923
The Gentleman from America
1923