
Acting
Born September 17, 1900 · 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).

Stars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
2014

Complicated Women
2003

Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960

The Last Hurrah
1958

Bunco Squad
1950

Mystery in Mexico
1948

Blackmail
1947

The Locket
1946

The Inner Circle
1946

Make Your Own Bed
1944

Tomorrow We Live
1942

Rubber Racketeers
1942

Who Is Hope Schuyler?
1942

I Killed That Man
1941

World Premiere
1941

A Shot in the Dark
1941

Romance of the Rio Grande
1941

Murder Over New York
1940

Charlie Chan in Reno
1939

Mr. Moto's Last Warning
1939

City Girl
1938

Breakdowns of 1937
1937

West of Shanghai
1937

The Californian
1937

Her Husband Lies
1937

Breakdowns of 1936
1936

Talk of the Devil
1936

The Case of the Black Cat
1936