His first contract was under LVN Pictures. He made five movies with LVN, namely Ang Tapis mo Inday with Celia Flor, Anak ng Pulubi and Nasaan ka Giliw both with Tessie Quintana, Harana sa Karagatan with Mila del Sol and Tia Loleng with Armando Goyena.
After two years of making movies with LVN Studios, he signed another contract with the Santiagos and became the mainstay movie player on that studio.
He then made several pictures with Premiere Production. He married Gloria Sevilla, another Premiere Production siren.
In 1998, Philippine President Joseph Estrada, a former actor and colleague of Cortez, named Cortez as Consul General of the Philippines in San Francisco.[1] He retired in 2001[2] and died in 2003. Cortez was awarded a posthumous lifetime achievement award in 2003 by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences.
Cortez and spouse Gloria Sevilla are buried at Loyola Memorial Park.
