profile

    Ricardo Cortez

    1900-09-17 (124 years old) in 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).

    Movies

    poster
    Complicated Women
    67 %|May 6, 2003
    Documentary, TV Movie
    actor
    Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
    80 %|Jan 1, 1986
    Documentary
    poster
    Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
    60 %|Jan 10, 1960
    Documentary
    poster
    The Last Hurrah
    71 %|Dec 31, 1958
    Drama
    poster
    Bunco Squad
    59 %|Sep 1, 1950
    Crime
    poster
    Mystery in Mexico
    58 %|Aug 21, 1948
    Crime, Mystery, Adventure
    poster
    Blackmail
    40 %|Jul 24, 1947
    Action, Crime, Romance
    poster
    The Locket
    63.97 %|Dec 20, 1946
    Drama, Crime, Thriller
    poster
    The Inner Circle
    52 %|Aug 7, 1946
    Thriller, Crime, Mystery
    poster
    Make Your Own Bed
    58 %|Jun 10, 1944
    Comedy
    poster
    Tomorrow We Live
    43 %|Sep 23, 1942
    Crime, Drama
    poster
    Rubber Racketeers
    43 %|Jun 26, 1942
    Drama, Crime
    poster
    Who Is Hope Schuyler?
    40 %|Apr 17, 1942
    Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Mystery, Romance
    poster
    I Killed That Man
    57 %|Nov 28, 1941
    Mystery
    poster
    World Premiere
    50 %|Aug 21, 1941
    Comedy
    poster
    A Shot in the Dark
    52 %|Apr 5, 1941
    Mystery, Comedy, Drama
    poster
    Romance of the Rio Grande
    40 %|Jan 17, 1941
    Romance, Western
    poster
    Murder Over New York
    61.47 %|Dec 13, 1940
    Crime, Mystery, Comedy, Thriller
    poster
    Charlie Chan in Reno
    62 %|Jun 16, 1939
    Mystery, Thriller
    poster
    Mr. Moto's Last Warning
    58 %|Jan 20, 1939
    Mystery, Crime, Thriller
    poster
    City Girl
    60 %|Jan 7, 1938
    Drama, Crime
    poster
    Breakdowns of 1937
    60 %|Dec 31, 1937
    Documentary, Comedy
    poster
    West of Shanghai
    54 %|Oct 30, 1937
    War, Adventure, Drama
    poster
    The Californian
    0 %|Jul 18, 1937
    Western
    poster
    Her Husband Lies
    60 %|Mar 13, 1937
    Crime, Drama
    poster
    Breakdowns of 1936
    0 %|Dec 30, 1936
    Documentary, Comedy
    poster
    Talk of the Devil
    0 %|Dec 9, 1936
    Drama
    poster
    The Case of the Black Cat
    66 %|Oct 31, 1936
    Crime, Mystery
    poster
    Postal Inspector
    62 %|Aug 16, 1936
    Thriller, Action, Crime, Drama
    poster
    The Walking Dead
    62 %|Mar 1, 1936
    Crime, Horror, Science Fiction
    poster
    Man Hunt
    0 %|Jan 29, 1936
    Crime, Drama, Comedy
    poster
    The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
    56 %|Jan 11, 1936
    Mystery
    poster
    Frisco Kid
    68 %|Nov 30, 1935
    Adventure, Romance, Action
    poster
    Special Agent
    63 %|Sep 14, 1935
    Drama, Crime
    poster
    Manhattan Moon
    0 %|Jul 1, 1935
    Romance, Comedy, Music
    poster
    Shadow of Doubt
    62 %|Feb 15, 1935
    Thriller
    poster
    The White Cockatoo
    53 %|Jan 29, 1935
    Mystery
    poster
    I Am a Thief
    60 %|Nov 24, 1934
    Crime, Drama, Mystery
    poster
    The Firebird
    55 %|Nov 3, 1934
    Mystery, Drama
    poster
    A Lost Lady
    61 %|Sep 29, 1934
    Drama
    poster
    The Man with Two Faces
    65 %|Aug 4, 1934
    Crime, Drama
    poster
    Hat, Coat and Glove
    55 %|Jul 26, 1934
    Drama
    poster
    Wonder Bar
    62 %|Mar 31, 1934
    Crime, Drama, Music, Romance
    actor
    Hollywood Newsreel
    40 %|Mar 24, 1934
    poster
    Mandalay
    59 %|Feb 10, 1934
    Drama
    poster
    The Big Shakedown
    56 %|Jan 6, 1934
    Drama, Crime
    poster
    The House on 56th Street
    52 %|Dec 23, 1933
    History, Drama
    poster
    Big Executive
    0 %|Oct 19, 1933
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    Torch Singer
    52 %|Sep 8, 1933
    Music, Drama, Romance
    poster
    Midnight Mary
    68.57000000000001 %|Jun 30, 1933
    Crime, Drama, Romance
    poster
    Broadway Bad
    50 %|Feb 24, 1933
    Drama, Music
    poster
    Flesh
    56 %|Dec 8, 1932
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    The Phantom of Crestwood
    60 %|Oct 14, 1932
    Crime, Mystery
    poster
    Thirteen Women
    63 %|Sep 16, 1932
    Drama, Mystery
    poster
    Is My Face Red?
    50 %|Jun 17, 1932
    Action, Crime, Drama, Romance
    poster
    Symphony of Six Million
    54 %|Apr 29, 1932
    Drama
    poster
    No One Man
    60 %|Jan 22, 1932
    Drama
    poster
    Men of Chance
    58 %|Dec 26, 1931
    Drama
    actor
    Reckless Living
    30 %|Oct 20, 1931
    Crime
    poster
    Bad Company
    46 %|Oct 16, 1931
    Drama, Crime
    poster
    Transgression
    40 %|Jun 27, 1931
    Drama
    poster
    Big Business Girl
    55 %|Jun 12, 1931
    Romance, Comedy
    poster
    Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
    60 %|Jun 1, 1931
    Documentary
    poster
    The Maltese Falcon
    64 %|May 23, 1931
    Mystery, Crime
    poster
    White Shoulders
    0 %|May 17, 1931
    Drama
    poster
    Behind Office Doors
    51 %|Mar 15, 1931
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    Illicit
    58 %|Feb 14, 1931
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    Ten Cents a Dance
    68 %|Jan 30, 1931
    Drama
    poster
    Her Man
    53 %|Sep 21, 1930
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    Montana Moon
    46 %|Mar 20, 1930
    Comedy, Drama, Western, Music
    poster
    The Lost Zeppelin
    48 %|Dec 19, 1929
    Adventure
    poster
    The Phantom in the House
    46 %|Oct 20, 1929
    Crime, Drama, Mystery
    poster
    Midstream
    0 %|Jul 29, 1929
    Science Fiction
    poster
    New Orleans
    0 %|Jun 1, 1929
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    The Younger Generation
    62 %|Mar 4, 1929
    Drama
    poster
    Excess Baggage
    0 %|Sep 28, 1928
    poster
    Woman of Destiny
    0 %|Apr 29, 1928
    Drama
    poster
    The Private Life of Helen of Troy
    35 %|Dec 9, 1927
    Comedy
    poster
    Mockery
    67 %|Aug 13, 1927
    Drama
    poster
    New York
    0 %|Jan 30, 1927
    Drama
    poster
    The Eagle of the Sea
    0 %|Oct 17, 1926
    Adventure
    poster
    The Sorrows of Satan
    65 %|Oct 12, 1926
    Drama, Romance
    poster
    The Cat's Pajamas
    0 %|Aug 29, 1926
    Comedy
    poster
    Volcano
    0 %|May 23, 1926
    Romance, Drama
    poster
    Torrent
    69 %|Feb 21, 1926
    Romance, Drama
    poster
    Not So Long Ago
    0 %|Sep 7, 1925
    Drama
    poster
    The Pony Express
    59 %|Sep 3, 1925
    Western
    poster
    In the Name of Love
    0 %|Aug 10, 1925
    Adventure, Comedy, Romance
    poster
    The Spaniard
    0 %|May 4, 1925
    Drama
    poster
    The Swan
    60 %|Feb 16, 1925
    Romance, Comedy
    poster
    Argentine Love
    0 %|Dec 22, 1924
    Drama
    poster
    This Woman
    0 %|Nov 2, 1924
    Drama
    poster
    Feet of Clay
    0 %|Sep 27, 1924
    Fantasy, Drama
    poster
    The Bedroom Window
    0 %|Jun 8, 1924
    Mystery
    poster
    A Society Scandal
    0 %|Mar 9, 1924
    Drama
    poster
    The Next Corner
    0 %|Feb 18, 1924
    Romance
    poster
    The Call of the Canyon
    0 %|Dec 16, 1923
    Western
    poster
    Hollywood
    70 %|Aug 19, 1923
    Comedy, Drama
    poster
    Children of Jazz
    0 %|Jul 8, 1923
    Comedy, Drama
    poster
    The Gentleman from America
    0 %|Feb 19, 1923
    Comedy

    Series

    poster
    This Is Your Life
    65.56 %|Oct 1, 1952
    Documentary