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

Complicated Women 2003-05-06
Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown 1986-01-01
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood 1960-01-10
The Last Hurrah 1958-12-31
Bunco Squad 1950-09-01
Mystery in Mexico 1948-08-21
Blackmail 1947-07-24
The Locket 1946-12-20
The Inner Circle 1946-08-07
Make Your Own Bed 1944-06-10
Tomorrow We Live 1942-09-23
Rubber Racketeers 1942-06-26
Who Is Hope Schuyler? 1942-04-17
I Killed That Man 1941-11-28
World Premiere 1941-08-21
A Shot in the Dark 1941-04-05
Romance of the Rio Grande 1941-01-17
Murder Over New York 1940-12-13
Charlie Chan in Reno 1939-06-16
Mr. Moto's Last Warning 1939-01-20
City Girl 1938-01-07
Breakdowns of 1937 1937-12-31
West of Shanghai 1937-10-30
The Californian 1937-07-18
Her Husband Lies 1937-03-13
Breakdowns of 1936 1936-12-30
Talk of the Devil 1936-12-09
The Case of the Black Cat 1936-10-31
Postal Inspector 1936-08-16
Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs 1936-08-05
The Walking Dead 1936-03-01
Man Hunt 1936-01-29
The Murder of Dr. Harrigan 1936-01-11
Frisco Kid 1935-11-30
Special Agent 1935-09-14
Manhattan Moon 1935-07-01
Shadow of Doubt 1935-02-15
The White Cockatoo 1935-01-29
I Am a Thief 1934-11-24
The Firebird 1934-11-03
A Lost Lady 1934-09-29
The Man with Two Faces 1934-08-04
Hat, Coat and Glove 1934-07-26
Wonder Bar 1934-03-31
Hollywood Newsreel 1934-03-24
Mandalay 1934-02-10
The Big Shakedown 1934-01-06
The House on 56th Street 1933-12-23
Big Executive 1933-10-19
Torch Singer 1933-09-08
Midnight Mary 1933-06-30
Broadway Bad 1933-02-24
Flesh 1932-12-08
The Phantom of Crestwood 1932-10-14
Thirteen Women 1932-09-16
Is My Face Red? 1932-06-17
Symphony of Six Million 1932-04-29
No One Man 1932-01-22
Men of Chance 1931-12-26
Reckless Living 1931-10-20
Bad Company 1931-10-16
Transgression 1931-06-27
Big Business Girl 1931-06-12
Screen Snapshots (Series 10, No. 8) 1931-06-01
The Maltese Falcon 1931-05-23
White Shoulders 1931-05-17
Behind Office Doors 1931-03-15
Illicit 1931-02-14
Ten Cents a Dance 1931-01-30
Her Man 1930-09-21
Montana Moon 1930-03-20
The Lost Zeppelin 1929-12-19
The Phantom in the House 1929-10-20
Midstream 1929-07-29
New Orleans 1929-06-01
The Younger Generation 1929-03-04
Excess Baggage 1928-09-28
Woman of Destiny 1928-04-29
The Private Life of Helen of Troy 1927-12-09
Mockery 1927-08-13
New York 1927-01-30
The Eagle of the Sea 1926-10-17
The Sorrows of Satan 1926-10-12
The Cat's Pajamas 1926-08-29
Volcano 1926-05-23
Torrent 1926-02-21
Not So Long Ago 1925-09-07
The Pony Express 1925-09-03
In the Name of Love 1925-08-10
The Spaniard 1925-05-04
The Swan 1925-02-16
Argentine Love 1924-12-22
This Woman 1924-11-02
Feet of Clay 1924-09-27
The Bedroom Window 1924-06-08
A Society Scandal 1924-03-09
The Next Corner 1924-02-18
The Call of the Canyon 1923-12-16
Hollywood 1923-08-19
Children of Jazz 1923-07-08
The Gentleman from America 1923-02-19

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