Robert Paige
Robert Paige (born John Arthur Page December 2, 1911 in Indianapolis, Indiana, died Dec 21,1987) was a TV star and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime and was the only actor ever allowed to sing on film with Deanna Durbin (in 1944's Can't Help Singing). He was a graduate of West Point and was related to Admiral David Beatty, hero of the World War I Battle of Jutland. Paige began his screen career in 1934. His handsome features and assured speaking voice earned him prominent roles in motion pictures, such as Cain and Mabel with Clark Gable and Marion Davies. In 1936, to avoid confusion with another rising leading man, John Payne, Paige briefly adopted the screen name "David Carlyle." He worked primarily for Warner Brothers and Republic Pictures during this period. In 1938 he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, which changed his screen name to Robert Paige. Columbia cast him in "B" features and starred him in one serial, Flying G-Men. When the Columbia contract lapsed, Paige moved to Paramount Pictures and finally found a home in 1941 at Universal Pictures. Robert Paige quickly became one of Universal's reliable stars, playing romantic leads. He is prominent in many of Universal's comedies and musicals, including those of Abbott and Costello, Olsen and Johnson, Gloria Jean, and Hugh Herbert. He had a good singing voice and a flair for comedy, and the studio capitalized on these talents. Beginning in 1943 Universal gave Paige important roles in its biggest productions, but by then he was so established as a B-picture lead that he never quite graduated to mega-stardom. Paige, along with other contract players, left Universal after a corporate shakeup in 1946. He became an independent film producer in 1947 and entered the new field of television. He was the last permanent host of NBC's variety series The Colgate Comedy Hour, and won an Emmy in 1955 for "Best Male Personality" (a category that no longer exists). In the 1960s he became a TV newscaster in Los Angeles. Paige continued to work in occasional films through 1963; his last two films were The Marriage-Go-Round (1961) and Bye Bye Birdie (1963). From 1966 to 1970 Paige was a newscaster and political correspondent for ABC News in Los Angeles. He left the news desk to become Deputy Supervisor of Los Angeles under Baxter Ward, and then moved into the public relations field. He retired in the late 1970s. Robert Paige died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm in 1987.
Photos
Movies (67)
The Many Faces of Dracula
2000 · Frank Stanley (archive footage)
Dracula in the Movies
1992 · (archive footage)
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991 · Frank Stanley (archive footage)
Bye Bye Birdie
1963 · Bob Precht
The Marriage-Go-Round
1961 · Dr. Ross Barnett
It Happened to Jane
1959 · Robert Paige
Split Second
1953 · Arthur Ashton
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
1953 · Dr. Wilson
The Green Promise
1949 · David Barkley, Producer
Blonde Ice
1948 · Les Burns
The Flame
1947 · Barry MacAllister
The Red Stallion
1947 · Andy McBride
Tangier
1946 · Paul Kenyon
Shady Lady
1945 · Bob Wendell
Can't Help Singing
1944 · Johnny Lawlor
Her Primitive Man
1944 · Peter Mathews / Pangi
Follow the Boys
1944 · Robert Paige (uncredited)
Son of Dracula
1943 · Frank Stanley
Crazy House
1943 · Robert Paige
Fired Wife
1943 · Hank Dunne
Frontier Badmen
1943 · Steve Logan
Get Going
1943 · Bob Carlton
Mister Big
1943 · Johnny Hanley
Cowboy in Manhattan
1943 · Bob Allen
Keep 'Em Slugging
1943 · Star of Movie House Film
Hi, Buddy
1943 · Johnny Blake
Hi'ya, Chum
1943 · Tommy Craig
How's About It
1943 · George Selby
What We Are Fighting For
1943 · Karl Baxter
Get Hep to Love
1942 · Stephen Winters
Pardon My Sarong
1942 · Tommy Layton
Almost Married
1942 · James Manning,lll
You're Telling Me
1942 · Dr. Burnside 'Burnsy' Walker
What's Cookin'?
1942 · Bob J. Riley
Jail House Blues
1942 · Cliff Bailey
Don't Get Personal
1942 · Paul Stevens
Hellzapoppin'
1941 · Jeff Hunter
Melody Lane
1941 · Gabe Morgan
San Antonio Rose
1941 · Con Conway
The Monster and the Girl
1941 · Larry Reed
Dancing on a Dime
1940 · Ted Brooks
Golden Gloves
1940 · Wally Matson
Opened by Mistake
1940 · Jimmie Daniels
Women Without Names
1940 · Fred MacNeil
Parole Fixer
1940 · Steve Eddson
Emergency Squad
1940 · Chester 'Chesty' Miller
First Love
1939 · Ball Guest
Death of a Champion
1939 · Alec Temple
Flying G-Men
1939 · Hal Andrews / The Black Falcon
Homicide Bureau
1939 · Thurston
The Last Warning
1938 · Tony Henderson (as Robert Page)
I Stand Accused
1938 · Joe Benson
The Lady Objects
1938 · Ken Harper
Highway Patrol
1938 · William Rolph
The Main Event
1938 · Mac Richards
There's Always a Woman
1938 · Jerry Marlowe
When G-Men Step In
1938 · G-Man Bruce Garth
Who Killed Gail Preston?
1938 · 'Swing' Traynor
Talent Scout
1937 · Bert Smith
Meet the Boy Friend
1937 · Tony Page
Rhythm in the Clouds
1937 · Phil Hale
The Cherokee Strip
1937 · Tom Valley
Melody for Two
1937 · Mr. Carlson
Once a Doctor
1937 · Dr. Burton
Smart Blonde
1937 · Lewis Friel
Rose Bowl
1936 · Football Player
Cain and Mabel
1936 · Ronny Cauldwell
TV shows (8)
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
1960 · Roger
The Millionaire
1955 · Whitney Ames
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
1953 · Roger Libbott, Sam
Cavalcade of America
1952
Four Star Playhouse
1952 · Paul Campbell
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951 · Host, Spokesman for Schlitz, Narrator, Self - Host
Lux Video Theatre
1950 · Bill Russell
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950 · Self, Self - Host