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person_profile-Ricardo Cortez

Ricardo Cortez Died at age: 76

Actor | Producer

Date of Birth:

Sep 17, 1900

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Apr 28, 1977

Biography of

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).

Photos of

Ricardo Cortez

Photos ( 2 Photos

Filmography of

Ricardo Cortez

Found 94 Movies in total

Complicated Women

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2003

... 1960

The Last Hurrah

Sam Weinberg ( Actor )

... 1958

Bunco Squad

Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells ( Actor )

... 1950

Mystery in Mexico

John Norcross ( Actor )

... 1948

Blackmail

Ziggy Cranston ( Actor )

... 1947

The Locket

Andrew 'Drew' Bonner ( Actor )

... 1946

The Inner Circle

Duke York ( Actor )

... 1946

Make Your Own Bed

Wilson / Fritz Alden ( Actor )

... 1944

Tomorrow We Live

The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin ( Actor )

... 1942

Rubber Racketeers

Gilin ( Actor )

... 1942

Who Is Hope Schuyler?

Anthony Pearce ( Actor )

... 1942

I Killed That Man

Roger Phillips ( Actor )

... 1941

World Premiere

Mark Saunders ( Actor )

... 1941

A Shot in the Dark

Phillip Richards ( Actor )

... 1941

Romance of the Rio Grande

Ricardo de Vega ( Actor )

... 1941

Murder Over New York

George Kirby ( Actor )

... 1940

Charlie Chan in Reno

Dr. Ainsley ( Actor )

... 1939

Mr. Moto's Last Warning

Fabian ( Actor )

... 1939

City Girl

Charles Blake ( Actor )

... 1938

West of Shanghai

Gordon Creed ( Actor )

... 1937

The Californian

Ramon Escobar ( Actor )

... 1937

Her Husband Lies

J. Ward Thomas ( Actor )

... 1937

Talk of the Devil

Ray Allen ( Actor )

... 1936

The Case of the Black Cat

Perry Mason ( Actor )

... 1936

Postal Inspector

Inspector Bill Davis ( Actor )

... 1936

The Walking Dead

Nolan ( Actor )

... 1936

Man Hunt

Frank Kingman ( Actor )

... 1936

The Murder of Dr. Harrigan

George Lambert ( Actor )

... 1936

Frisco Kid

Paul Morra ( Actor )

... 1935

Special Agent

Alexander Carston ( Actor )

... 1935

Manhattan Moon

Dan Moore ( Actor )

... 1935

Shadow of Doubt

Sim ( Actor )

... 1935

The White Cockatoo

Jim Sundean ( Actor )

... 1935

I Am a Thief

Pierre Londais ( Actor )

... 1934

The Firebird

Herman Brandt ( Actor )

... 1934

A Lost Lady

Ellinger ( Actor )

... 1934

The Man with Two Faces

Ben Weston ( Actor )

... 1934

Hat, Coat and Glove

Robert Mitchell ( Actor )

... 1934

Wonder Bar

Harry ( Actor )

... 1934

Mandalay

Tony Evans ( Actor )

... 1934

The Big Shakedown

Dutch Barnes ( Actor )

... 1934

The House on 56th Street

Bill Blaine ( Actor )

... 1933

Big Executive

Victor Conway ( Actor )

... 1933

Torch Singer

Tony Cummings ( Actor )

... 1933

Midnight Mary

Leo Darcy ( Actor )

... 1933

Broadway Bad

Craig Cutting ( Actor )

... 1933

Flesh

Nicky ( Actor )

... 1932

The Phantom of Crestwood

Gary Curtis ( Actor )

... 1932

Thirteen Women

Police Sergeant Barry Clive ( Actor )

... 1932

Is My Face Red?

William Poster ( Actor )

... 1932

... 1932

No One Man

Bill Hanaway ( Actor )

... 1932

Men of Chance

Johnny Silk ( Actor )

... 1931

Bad Company

Goldie Gorio ( Actor )

... 1931

Transgression

Don Arturo de Borgus ( Actor )

... 1931

Big Business Girl

Robert J. Clayton ( Actor )

... 1931

The Maltese Falcon

Sam Spade ( Actor )

... 1931

White Shoulders

Lawrence Marchmont ( Actor )

... 1931

Behind Office Doors

Ronnie Wales ( Actor )

... 1931

Illicit

Price Baines ( Actor )

... 1931

Ten Cents a Dance

Bradley Carlton ( Actor )

... 1931

Her Man

Johnnie ( Actor )

... 1930

Montana Moon

Jeff ( Actor )

... 1930

The Lost Zeppelin

Tom Armstrong ( Actor )

... 1929

The Phantom in the House

Paul Wallis ( Actor )

... 1929

Midstream

James Stanwood ( Actor )

... 1929

New Orleans

Jim Morley ( Actor )

... 1929

The Younger Generation

Morris Goldfish ( Actor )

... 1929

Excess Baggage

Val D'Errico ( Actor )

... 1928

Woman of Destiny

Yoanes Etchegarry ( Actor )

... 1928

... 1927

Mockery

Dimitri ( Actor )

... 1927

New York

Michael Angelo Cassidy ( Actor )

... 1927

The Eagle of the Sea

Captain Sazarac ( Actor )

... 1926

The Sorrows of Satan

Geoffrey Tempest ( Actor )

... 1926

... 1926

Volcano

Stéphane Séquineau ( Actor )

... 1926

Torrent

Don Rafael Brull ( Actor )

... 1926

Not So Long Ago

Billy Ballard ( Actor )

... 1925

The Pony Express

Jack Weston ( Actor )

... 1925

In the Name of Love

Raoul Melnotte ( Actor )

... 1925

The Spaniard

Don Pedro de Barrego ( Actor )

... 1925

The Swan

Dr. Walter, the Tutor ( Actor )

... 1925

Argentine Love

Juan Martin ( Actor )

... 1924

This Woman

Whitney Duane ( Actor )

... 1924

Feet of Clay

Tony Channing ( Actor )

... 1924

The Bedroom Window

Robert Delano ( Actor )

... 1924

A Society Scandal

Harrison Peters ( Actor )

... 1924

The Next Corner

Don Arturo ( Actor )

... 1924

The Call of the Canyon

Larry Morrison ( Actor )

... 1923

Hollywood

Ricardo Cortez ( Actor )

... 1923

Children of Jazz

Ted Carter ( Actor )

... 1923