Acting · New York City, New York, USA · Born September 17, 1900
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).
MovieStars of the Silver Screen - Greta Garbo
2014
as Self (archive footage)
MovieComplicated Women
2003
as Self (archive footage)
MovieGreta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
1986
as Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage)
MovieHedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
as Self
MovieThe Last Hurrah
1958
as Sam Weinberg
TVThis Is Your Life
1952
as Self
MovieBunco Squad
1950
as Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells
MovieMystery in Mexico
1948
as John Norcross
MovieBlackmail
1947
as Ziggy Cranston
MovieThe Locket
1946
as Drew Bonner
MovieThe Inner Circle
1946
as Duke York
MovieMake Your Own Bed
1944
as Wilson / Fritz Alden
MovieTomorrow We Live
1942
as The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin
MovieRubber Racketeers
1942
as Gilin
MovieWho Is Hope Schuyler?
1942
as Anthony Pearce
MovieI Killed That Man
1941
as Roger Phillips
MovieWorld Premiere
1941
as Mark Saunders
MovieA Shot in the Dark
1941
as Phillip Richards
MovieRomance of the Rio Grande
1941
as Ricardo de Vega
MovieMurder Over New York
1940
as George Kirby
MovieCharlie Chan in Reno
1939
as Dr. Ainsley
MovieMr. Moto's Last Warning
1939
as Fabian
MovieCity Girl
1938
as Charles Blake
MovieBreakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
MovieWest of Shanghai
1937
as Gordon Creed
MovieThe Californian
1937
as Ramon Escobar
MovieHer Husband Lies
1937
as J. Ward Thomas
MovieBreakdowns of 1936
1936
as Self
MovieTalk of the Devil
1936
as Ray Allen
MovieThe Case of the Black Cat
1936
as Perry Mason
MoviePostal Inspector
1936
as Inspector Bill Davis
MovieThe Walking Dead
1936
as Nolan
MovieMan Hunt
1936
as Frank Kingman
MovieThe Murder of Dr. Harrigan
1936
as George Lambert
MovieSunkist Stars at Palm Springs
1936
MovieFrisco Kid
1935
as Paul Morra
MovieSpecial Agent
1935
as Alexander Carston
MovieManhattan Moon
1935
as Dan Moore
MovieShadow of Doubt
1935
as Sim
MovieThe White Cockatoo
1935
as Jim Sundean
MovieI Am a Thief
1934
as Pierre Londais
MovieThe Firebird
1934
as Herman Brandt
MovieA Lost Lady
1934
as Ellinger
MovieThe Man with Two Faces
1934
as Ben Weston
MovieHat, Coat and Glove
1934
as Robert Mitchell
MovieWonder Bar
1934
as Harry
Hollywood Newsreel
1934
as Himself
MovieMandalay
1934
as Tony Evans
MovieThe Big Shakedown
1934
as Dutch Barnes
MovieThe House on 56th Street
1933
as Bill Blaine
MovieBig Executive
1933
as Victor Conway
MovieTorch Singer
1933
as Tony Cummings
MovieMidnight Mary
1933
as Leo
MovieBroadway Bad
1933
as Craig Cutting
MovieFlesh
1932
as Nicky
MovieThe Phantom of Crestwood
1932
as Gary Curtis
MovieThirteen Women
1932
as Police Sergeant Barry Clive
MovieIs My Face Red?
1932
as William Poster
MovieSymphony of Six Million
1932
as Felix
MovieNo One Man
1932
as Bill Hanaway
MovieMen of Chance
1931
as Johnny Silk
Reckless Living
1931
as Curly
MovieBad Company
1931
as Goldie Gorio
MovieTransgression
1931
as Don Arturo de Borgus
MovieBig Business Girl
1931
as Robert J. Clayton
MovieScreen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
1931
as Self
MovieThe Maltese Falcon
1931
as Sam Spade
MovieWhite Shoulders
1931
as Lawrence Marchmont
MovieBehind Office Doors
1931
as Ronnie Wales
MovieIllicit
1931
as Price Baines
MovieTen Cents a Dance
1931
as Bradley Carlton
MovieHer Man
1930
as Johnnie
MovieMontana Moon
1930
as Jeff
MovieThe Lost Zeppelin
1929
as Tom Armstrong
MovieThe Phantom in the House
1929
as Paul Wallis
MovieMidstream
1929
as James Stanwood
MovieNew Orleans
1929
as Jim Morley
MovieThe Younger Generation
1929
as Morris Goldfish
MovieExcess Baggage
1928
as Val D'Errico
MovieProwlers of the Sea
1928
as Carlos De Neve
MovieLadies of the Night Club
1928
as George Merrill
MovieWoman of Destiny
1928
as Yoanes Etchegarry
MovieThe Private Life of Helen of Troy
1927
as Paris
MovieBy Whose Hand?
1927
as Agent X-9
MovieMockery
1927
as Dimitri
MovieNew York
1927
as Michael Angelo Cassidy
MovieThe Eagle of the Sea
1926
as Captain Sazarac
MovieThe Sorrows of Satan
1926
as Geoffrey Tempest
MovieThe Cat's Pajamas
1926
MovieVolcano
1926
as Stéphane Séquineau
MovieTorrent
1926
as Don Rafael Brull
MovieNot So Long Ago
1925
as Billy Ballard
MovieThe Pony Express
1925
as Jack Weston
MovieIn the Name of Love
1925
as Raoul Melnotte
MovieThe Spaniard
1925
as Don Pedro de Barrego
MovieThe Swan
1925
as Dr. Walter, the Tutor
MovieArgentine Love
1924
as Juan Martin
MovieThis Woman
1924
as Whitney Duane
MovieThe City That Never Sleeps
1924
as Mark Roth
MovieFeet of Clay
1924
as Tony Channing
MovieThe Bedroom Window
1924
as Robert Delano
MovieA Society Scandal
1924
as Harrison Peters
MovieThe Next Corner
1924
as Don Arturo
MovieThe Call of the Canyon
1923
as Larry Morrison
MovieHollywood
1923
as Ricardo Cortez
MovieChildren of Jazz
1923
as Ted Carter
MovieSixty Cents an Hour
1923
as William Davis
MovieThe Gentleman from America
1923
