Ricardo Cortez
106 movies
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Sep 17, 1900
- Died
- Apr 28, 1977 (age 76)
- Place of birth
- New York City, New York, USA
- Also known as
- Jacob Krantz · Jack Crane
Biography
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.
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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).
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Ricardo Cortez: movies and TV shows
Acting (99)
- 1958 The Last Hurrah
as Sam Weinberg
- 1950 Bunco Squad
as Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
- 1948 Mystery in Mexico
as John Norcross
- 1947 Blackmail
as Ziggy Cranston
- 1946 The Locket
as Drew Bonner
- 1946 The Inner Circle
as Duke York
- 1944 Make Your Own Bed
as Wilson / Fritz Alden
- 1942 Tomorrow We Live
as The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
- 1942 Rubber Racketeers
as Gilin
- 1942 Who Is Hope Schuyler?
as Anthony Pearce
- 1941 I Killed That Man
as Roger Phillips
- 1941 World Premiere
as Mark Saunders
- 1941 A Shot in the Dark
as Phillip Richards
- 1941 Romance of the Rio Grande
as Ricardo de Vega
- 1940 Murder Over New York
as George Kirby
- 1939 Charlie Chan in Reno
as Dr. Ainsley
- 1939 Mr. Moto's Last Warning
as Fabian
- 1938 City Girl
as Charles Blake
- 1937 West of Shanghai
as Gordon Creed
- 1937 The Californian
as Ramon Escobar
- 1937 Her Husband Lies
as J. Ward Thomas
- 1936 Talk of the Devil
as Ray Allen
- 1936 The Case of the Black Cat
as Perry Mason
- 1936 Postal Inspector
as Inspector Bill Davis
- 1936 The Walking Dead
as Nolan
- 1936 Man Hunt
as Frank Kingman
- 1936 The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
as George Lambert
- 1936
- 1935 Frisco Kid
as Paul Morra
- 1935 Special Agent
as Alexander Carston
- 1935 Manhattan Moon
as Dan Moore
- 1935 Shadow of Doubt
as Sim
- 1935 The White Cockatoo
as Jim Sundean
- 1934 I Am a Thief
as Pierre Londais
- 1934 The Firebird
as Herman Brandt
- 1934 A Lost Lady
as Ellinger
- 1934 The Man with Two Faces
as Ben Weston
- 1934 Hat, Coat and Glove
as Robert Mitchell
- 1934 Wonder Bar
as Harry
- 1934 Mandalay
as Tony Evans
- 1934 The Big Shakedown
as Dutch Barnes
- 1933 The House on 56th Street
as Bill Blaine
- 1933 Big Executive
as Victor Conway
- 1933 Torch Singer
as Tony Cummings
- 1933 Midnight Mary
as Leo
- 1933 Broadway Bad
as Craig Cutting
- 1932 Flesh
as Nicky
- 1932 The Phantom of Crestwood
as Gary Curtis
- 1932 Thirteen Women
as Police Sergeant Barry Clive
- 1932 Is My Face Red?
as William Poster
- 1932 Symphony of Six Million
as Felix
- 1932 No One Man
as Bill Hanaway
- 1931 Men of Chance
as Johnny Silk
- 1931 Reckless Living
as Curly
- 1931 Bad Company
as Goldie Gorio
- 1931 Transgression
as Don Arturo de Borgus
- 1931 Big Business Girl
as Robert J. Clayton
- 1931 The Maltese Falcon
as Sam Spade
- 1931 White Shoulders
as Lawrence Marchmont
- 1931 Behind Office Doors
as Ronnie Wales
- 1931 Illicit
as Price Baines
- 1931 Ten Cents a Dance
as Bradley Carlton
- 1930 Her Man
as Johnnie
- 1930 Montana Moon
as Jeff
- 1929 The Lost Zeppelin
as Tom Armstrong
- 1929 The Phantom in the House
as Paul Wallis
- 1929 Midstream
as James Stanwood
- 1929 New Orleans
as Jim Morley
- 1929 The Younger Generation
as Morris Goldfish
- 1928 Excess Baggage
as Val D'Errico
- 1928 Prowlers of the Sea
as Carlos De Neve
- 1928 Ladies of the Night Club
as George Merrill
- 1928 Woman of Destiny
as Yoanes Etchegarry
- 1927 The Private Life of Helen of Troy
as Paris
- 1927 By Whose Hand?
as Agent X-9
- 1927 Mockery
as Dimitri
- 1927 New York
as Michael Angelo Cassidy
- 1926 The Eagle of the Sea
as Captain Sazarac
- 1926 The Sorrows of Satan
as Geoffrey Tempest
- 1926
- 1926 Volcano
as Stéphane Séquineau
- 1926 Torrent
as Don Rafael Brull
- 1925 Not So Long Ago
as Billy Ballard
- 1925 The Pony Express
as Jack Weston
- 1925 In the Name of Love
as Raoul Melnotte
- 1925 The Spaniard
as Don Pedro de Barrego
- 1925 The Swan
as Dr. Walter, the Tutor
- 1924 Argentine Love
as Juan Martin
- 1924 This Woman
as Whitney Duane
- 1924 The City That Never Sleeps
as Mark Roth
- 1924 Feet of Clay
as Tony Channing
- 1924 The Bedroom Window
as Robert Delano
- 1924 A Society Scandal
as Harrison Peters
- 1924 The Next Corner
as Don Arturo
- 1923 The Call of the Canyon
as Larry Morrison
- 1923 Hollywood
as Ricardo Cortez
- 1923 Children of Jazz
as Ted Carter
- 1923 Sixty Cents an Hour
as William Davis
- 1923
Behind the camera (7)
- 1940 Girl in 313
Director
- 1940 Free, Blonde and 21
Director
- 1940 City of Chance
Director
- 1939 Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
Director
- 1939 The Escape
Director
- 1939 Chasing Danger
Director
- 1939 Inside Story
Director
Talk shows and appearances (10)
- 2014
- 2003
- 1986
- 1980 Hollywood
1 episode
- 1960
- 1952 This Is Your Life
1 episode
- 1937
- 1936
- 1934
- 1931