Ricardo Cortez (1900-1977)

Born Jacob Krantz in New York City, this son of Jewish immigrants grew up in the right city to foster an early love of show business. He was doing odd jobs in theaters by the end of 1914,  and the following year began playing a number of non-speaking theatrical roles. In 1917 he worked as a movie extra and later had an unbilled role in The Imp (1919). As Jack Crane he took on various bit parts be...