Robert Paige

Biography

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.

Known For

Frank Stanley

Son of Dracula

Bob Precht

Bye Bye Birdie

Arthur Ashton

Split Second

Dr. Wilson

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

Les Burns

Blonde Ice

Barry MacAllister

The Flame

Hal Andrews / The Black Falcon

Flying G-Men

Johnny Lawlor

Can't Help Singing

Jeff Hunter

Hellzapoppin'

Con Conway

San Antonio Rose

Lewis Friel

Smart Blonde

Stephen Winters

Get Hep to Love

Larry Reed

The Monster and the Girl

Dr. Ross Barnett

The Marriage-Go-Round

Cliff Bailey

Jail House Blues

Wally Matson

Golden Gloves

Bob Wendell

Shady Lady

Frank Stanley (archive footage)

Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook

Frank Stanley (archive footage)

The Many Faces of Dracula

Phil Hale

Rhythm in the Clouds

'Swing' Traynor

Who Killed Gail Preston?

Ronny Cauldwell

Cain and Mabel

Johnny Hanley

Mister Big

Paul Kenyon

Tangier

Tony Page

Meet the Boy Friend

Hank Dunne

Fired Wife

Ted Brooks

Dancing on a Dime

Fred MacNeil

Women Without Names

George Selby

How's About It

Jerry Marlowe

There's Always a Woman

Andy McBride

The Red Stallion

Joe Benson

I Stand Accused

David Barkley

The Green Promise

Football Player

Rose Bowl

Mr. Carlson

Melody for Two

Thurston

Homicide Bureau

Peter Mathews / Pangi

Her Primitive Man

Ball Guest

First Love

Steve Eddson

Parole Fixer

Ken Harper

The Lady Objects

Tom Valley

The Cherokee Strip

Steve Logan

Frontier Badmen

Dr. Burton

Once a Doctor

Chester 'Chesty' Miller

Emergency Squad

G-Man Bruce Garth

When G-Men Step In

Bob J. Riley

What's Cookin'?

Bert Smith

Talent Scout

Tony Henderson (as Robert Page)

The Last Warning

Gabe Morgan

Melody Lane

James Manning,lll

Almost Married

Johnny Blake

Hi, Buddy

Tommy Craig

Hi'ya, Chum

Tommy Layton

Pardon My Sarong

Bob Carlton

Get Going

William Rolph

Highway Patrol

Paul Stevens

Don't Get Personal

Star of Movie House Film

Keep 'Em Slugging

Mac Richards

The Main Event

Dr. Burnside 'Burnsy' Walker

You're Telling Me

Bob Allen

Cowboy in Manhattan

Robert Paige

Crazy House

Jimmie Daniels

Opened by Mistake

Alec Temple

Death of a Champion

Robert Paige

It Happened to Jane

Karl Baxter

What We Are Fighting For