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.World War I Draft Registration Card, Name: Artie Ortego, Age: 29, Home Address: 771 Orchard St. Jan Jose, Calif., Birth Date February 9, 1888 [sic], Citizenship: Natural Born, Birth Place: San Jose, Calif., Present Occu.: Horse (second word indecipherable), Where Emp.: Los Angeles, Calif., Married, Race: Spanish - White, Signed: Artie Ortego. Registrar's Report, Height: Short, Weight: Medium, Eye Color: Brown, Hair Color: Black, Bald: No. Precinct 12, San Jose, Calif. June 5, 1917. 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.
