RICARDO CORTEZ - AUTOGRAPH NOTE SIGNED - HFSID 83433

RICARDO CORTEZ
He pens a note to a fan expressing his bad spelling, signed with "best wishes."
Autograph Note Signed: "To Namoi I cant (sic) Spell -/But my Best Wishes/Just the Same/Ricardo Cortez", 6¼x4½ album leaf. Ricardo Cortez (1899-1977), born Jacob Krantz in New York City, New York was transformed into Latin Lover Ricardo Cortez from Spain when he entered films during the Valentino era. Groomed by Paramount to be the successor to Valentino, Cortez, while popular, was usually saddled in run-of-the-mill romances, such as Argentine Love (1924), In the Name of Love (1925) and The Cat's Pajamas (1926). Over the course of his career (1920s-1940s), Cortez, who was the only actor to have his name above Greta Garbo's in the credits (The Torrent, 1926, her first American film), was seen in a number of "B" films, and he also directed several films in 1939 and 1940. Cortez, who made only one television guest appearance (Bonanza, 1960), retired from acting to return to Wall Street (where he had started as a runner decades before) as a member of a top brokerage firm. Ink has smudged at the dot of the "i" in Wishes. Lightly creased. ¼-inch tear at upper margin touches the "i" of inscription. ¾- and ¼-inch tears at lower blank margin. Minor paper loss at lower left and upper right blank corners. Two file holes at blank left margin. Slightly soiled at lower portion. Otherwise, fine condition.