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).
Tomorrow We Live
(The Ghost, Alexander Caesar Martin)
The Phantom of Crestwood
(Gary Curtis)
The Walking Dead
(Nolan)
Charlie Chan in Reno
(Dr. Ainsley)
Hollywood
(Ricardo Cortez)
White Shoulders
(Lawrence Marchmont)
The Maltese Falcon
(Sam Spade)
The Locket
(Drew Bonner)
Blackmail
(Ziggy Cranston)
Bunco Squad
(Tony Weldon / Anthony Wells)
Murder Over New York
(George Kirby)
In the Name of Love
(Raoul Melnotte)
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
(Fabian)
The House on 56th Street
(Bill Blaine)
Midnight Mary
(Leo Darcy)
Torch Singer
(Tony Cummings)
The Inner Circle
(Duke York)
Special Agent
(Alexander Carston)
The Man with Two Faces
(Ben Weston)
Thirteen Women
(Police Sergeant Barry Clive)
The Last Hurrah
(Sam Weinberg)
Make Your Own Bed
(Wilson / Fritz Alden)
Mockery
(Dimitri)
Bad Company
(Goldie Gorio)
The Big Shakedown
(Dutch Barnes)
Symphony of Six Million
(Felix)
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan
(George Lambert)
Ten Cents a Dance
(Bradley Carlton)
Illicit
(Price Baines)
Transgression
(Don Arturo de Borgus)
Montana Moon
(Jeff)
Big Business Girl
(Robert J. Clayton)
I Killed That Man
(Roger Phillips)
Flesh
(Nicky)
Torrent
(Don Rafael Brull)
Wonder Bar
(Harry)
Behind Office Doors
(Ronnie Wales)
Her Man
(Johnnie)
The Case of the Black Cat
(Perry Mason)
The Gentleman from America
Frisco Kid
(Paul Morra)
I Am a Thief
(Pierre Londais)
Postal Inspector
(Inspector Bill Davis)
Hat, Coat and Glove
(Robert Mitchell)
The Bedroom Window
(Robert Delano)
The Phantom in the House
(Paul Wallis)
The Younger Generation
(Morris Goldfish)
City Girl
(Charles Blake)
Is My Face Red?
(William Poster)
Men of Chance
(Johnny Silk)
The Sorrows of Satan
(Geoffrey Tempest)
No One Man
(Bill Hanaway)
West of Shanghai
(Gordon Creed)
The White Cockatoo
(Jim Sundean)
Mystery in Mexico
(John Norcross)
Shadow of Doubt
(Sim)
Romance of the Rio Grande
(Ricardo de Vega)
A Lost Lady
(Ellinger)
The Firebird
(Herman Brandt)
The Lost Zeppelin
(Tom Armstrong)
The Californian
(Ramon Escobar)
Her Husband Lies
(J. Ward Thomas)
Broadway Bad
(Craig Cutting)
The Private Life of Helen of Troy
(Paris)
Mandalay
(Tony Evans)
The Spaniard
(Don Pedro de Barrego)
The Eagle of the Sea
(Captain Sazarac)
The Swan
(Dr. Walter, the Tutor)
Feet of Clay
(Tony Channing)
Woman of Destiny
(Yoanes Etchegarry)
Reckless Living
(Curly)
The Pony Express
(Jack Weston)
Excess Baggage
(Val D'Errico)
Hollywood Newsreel
(Himself)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
(Self)
Man Hunt
(Frank Kingman)
Rubber Racketeers
(Gilin)
Breakdowns of 1936
(Self)
A Shot in the Dark
(Phillip Richards)
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8)
(Self)
Children of Jazz
(Ted Carter)
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown
(Self as Don Rafael Brull (archive footage))
Manhattan Moon
(Dan Moore)
New York
(Michael Angelo Cassidy)
Breakdowns of 1937
(Self)
New Orleans
(Jim Morley)
Complicated Women
(Self (archive footage))
The Next Corner
(Don Arturo)
Who Is Hope Schuyler?
(Anthony Pearce)
Talk of the Devil
(Ray Allen)
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs
The Call of the Canyon
(Larry Morrison)
The Cat's Pajamas
This Woman
(Whitney Duane)
Midstream
(James Stanwood)
World Premiere
(Mark Saunders)
Not So Long Ago
(Billy Ballard)
A Society Scandal
(Harrison Peters)
Big Executive
(Victor Conway)
Argentine Love
(Juan Martin)
Volcano
(Stéphane Séquineau)
This Is Your Life
(Self)
