A full-blooded
Mission Indian, Ortego was born in
San Jose, California, the son of Benjamin Ortega and Rosa Gardnos. His siblings were Mary Ortega and Ben Ortega. In 1900, the family lived at 753 Orchard Street in San Jose. His father was a butcher. His debut was in the role as Moon Face in
Bison Motion Pictures'
silent western
short The Tattoo (1912) opposite
Mona Darkfeather and
William Bertram. Ortego
starred in 41 movies with Darkfeather, 33 of which are known to be directed by her husband,
Frank Montgomery. The last of their joint ventures was ''
The Gambler's Reformation'' (1914), in which Ortego played an Indian named Brown Bear. Ortego played the role as Delgado in the
adventure comedy/
drama American Aristocracy (1916) starring
Douglas Fairbanks and
Jewel Carmen. When he registered for the draft of
World War I, on June 5, 1917, Ortego gave his home address as 771 Orchard Street, San Jose. He appeared in two movies that year, as The Rat in
The Great Secret starring
Francis X. Bushman and
Beverly Bayne and as Taggart's Indian in
The Avenging Trail starring
Harold Lockwood and
Sally Crute. In 1920, Ortego was living in a hotel at 920 West Third Street,
Los Angeles. He appeared in one movie that year, as Little Wolf in
Skyfire starring and directed by
Neal Hart. That was followed by two shorts starring
Hoot Gibson, ''
The Driftin' Kid with Gertrude Olmstead, who later credited Ortego with teaching her to perform a flying mount, and The Man Who Woke Up'' (both 1921). Ortego appeared in his first
talkie as a vaquero in
Beyond the Rio Grande (1930) starring
Jack Perrin. In 1931, he played the stage driver in
Galloping Thru starring
Tom Tyler and
Betty Mack. He appeared in 14 movies starring
John Wayne, including
Randy Rides Alone (1934),
The Desert Trail (1935),
director John Ford's
Stagecoach (1939) with
Claire Trevor, and
A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) with
Jean Arthur. His final movie appearance was in director
Allan Dwan's jungle
adventure Escape to Burma (1955) starring
Barbara Stanwyck and
Robert Ryan for
RKO Pictures. He also made a number of
guest appearances on
television programs, including roles on
The Cisco Kid (1950, 1951 and |1952),
The Range Rider (1951),
Cowboy G-Men (1953),
Hopalong Cassidy (1953) and
Maverick (1959). Artie Ortego died at age 70 of a
stroke in
St. Joseph's Hospital,
Burbank, California. He is interred in
San Fernando Mission Cemetery,
Mission Hills. ==Selected filmography==