Ricardo Cortez Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Jacob Krantz (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977), known by his stage name Ricardo Cortez, was an American film actor who began his career during the silent era. Born to a Jewish family in New York City (Vienna has been incorrectly cited as his birthplace), Krantz was an amateur boxer and worked on Wall Street prior to entering the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name from Krantz to Cortez in order to capitalize on the popularity of his Latin contemporaries (Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno, among others.) When rumor began to circulate that Cortez was... MORE

Jacob Krantz (September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977), known by his stage name Ricardo Cortez, was an American film actor who began his career during the silent era. Born to a Jewish family in New York City (Vienna has been incorrectly cited as his birthplace), Krantz was an amateur boxer and worked on Wall Street prior to entering the film business. Hollywood executives changed his name from Krantz to Cortez in order to capitalize on the popularity of his Latin contemporaries (Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno, among others.) When rumor began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Spanish, the studios attempted to pass him off as French before finally "admitting" to his supposedly Viennese origin. Cortez appeared in over 100 films. Although he began his career playing romantic leads, when sound cinema arrived, his powerful delivery and New York accent made him an ideal heavy, and he switched from sex symbol to character actor. He played opposite Joan Crawford in Montana Moon (1930), played Sam Spade in the original, pre-code version of The Maltese Falcon (1931), co-starred with Charles Farrell and Bette Davis in The Big Shakedown, and with Al Jolson and Dolores LESS