Ricardo Cortez

Ricardo Cortez
Cortez in 1935
Born	Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz (1900-09-19)September 19, 1900 New York City, U.S.
Died	April 28, 1977(1977-04-28) (aged 76) New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York City
Other names	Jack Crane
Occupation	Actor film director
Years active	1917–1960
Spouse(s)	Alma Rubens ​ ​ (m. 1926; died 1931)​ Christine Coniff Lee ​ ​ (m. 1934; div. 1940)​ Margaret Belle ​ (m. 1950)​

Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze^[1][2][3] or Jacob Krantz;^[4] September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.^[3][5]

Early years[]

The son of Morris and Sarah Lefkovitz Krantz,^[6] Cortez was born to a Jewish family in New York City^[7] (Vienna has been incorrectly cited as his birthplace).^{[note 1][7][8]} He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City.^[2][9]

He was an amateur boxer and worked on Wall Street as a runner prior to entering the film business.^[3]

Acting[]

Hollywood executives changed his name from Krantz to Cortez to capitalize on his handsome Latin-like features and the popularity of the silent film era's "Latin lovers" such as Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno. When it began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Latin, the studios attempted to pass him off as French before a final Viennese origin story. Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He began his career playing romantic leads, and when sound cinema arrived, his strong delivery and New York accent made him an ideal heavy. Occasionally playing leading men, Cortez's main focus became character acting. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon (1930) and starred as Sam Spade in the original, pre-code version of The Maltese Falcon (1931). He co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown (1934), and with Al Jolson and Dolores del Río in Wonder Bar (1934). In 1936, Cortez replaced Warren William as Perry Mason in The Case of the Black Cat.

Directing[]

Cortez directed seven films for 20th Century Fox from 1938 through 1940, all of them "program pictures made on a shoestring for the express purpose of filling the bottom half of the mandatory double bill ..."^[10] His first film as director was Inside Story, which was assigned to Cortez in the spring of 1938 but was not released until 1939. He also directed Chasing Danger, The Escape (1939), Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939), City of Chance (1940), Free, Blonde and 21 (1940), and Girl in 313 (1940).^[10]

Personal life[]

Cortez was married to silent film actress Alma Rubens from 1926 until her death from pneumonia in 1931. He married Christine Conniff Lee on January 8, 1934.^[10]

After retiring from the film business in the late 1950s, Cortez returned to New York, and began working as a stockbroker for Salomon Brothers on Wall Street.

Cortez was the older brother of noted cinematographer Stanley Cortez (born Stanislaus Krantz).^[4]

Death[]

Cortez died in Doctors Hospital in New York City in 1977 at age 77^[8] and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Recognition[]

Cortez has a star at 1500 Vine Street in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated on February 8, 1960.^[11]

Filmography[]

Notes[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Van Neste, Dan. The Magnificent Heel: The Life and Films of Ricardo Cortez. Albany, GA: BearManor Media, 2017. ISBN 978-1-62933-128-7

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ricardo Cortez.

• Ricardo Cortez at IMDb
• Ricardo Cortez at Find a Grave