Jacob Krantz was three years old when his family came to New York City. The older brother of cinematographer Stanley Cortez, he began acting in films in the early '20s as a romantic lead. Cortez' notable silents include The Torrent, Greta Garbo's first American film, and D.W. Griffiths The Sorrows of Satan. He starred in numerous low-budget films in the '30s, among them such memorable efforts as the first version of The Maltese Falcon, directed by Roy Del Ruth, Gregory La Cava's drama Symphony of Six Million, and Michael Curtiz' horror tale The Walking Dead. At the end of the '30s Cortez also directed several B-films, including the romantic drama Heaven with a Barbed-Wire Fence, Glenn Ford's debut film. Cortez acted only sporadically in the '40s and '50s, but is remembered fondly for John Brahm's The Locket and John Ford's The Last Hurrah.