Robert Paige
Acting • Born 1911-12-02 – Died 1987-12-21
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.
Filmography
79 credits
Son of Dracula
Movie • 1943
Frank Stanley
Bye Bye Birdie
Movie • 1963
Bob Precht
Split Second
Movie • 1953
Arthur Ashton
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
Movie • 1953
Dr. Wilson
Blonde Ice
Movie • 1948
Les Burns
The Flame
Movie • 1947
Barry MacAllister
Flying G-Men
Movie • 1939
Hal Andrews / The Black Falcon
Can't Help Singing
Movie • 1944
Johnny Lawlor
Hellzapoppin'
Movie • 1941
Jeff Hunter
San Antonio Rose
Movie • 1941
Con Conway
Smart Blonde
Movie • 1937
Lewis Friel
Get Hep to Love
Movie • 1942
Stephen Winters
The Monster and the Girl
Movie • 1941
Larry Reed
The Marriage-Go-Round
Movie • 1961
Dr. Ross Barnett
Jail House Blues
Movie • 1942
Cliff Bailey
Golden Gloves
Movie • 1940
Wally Matson
Shady Lady
Movie • 1945
Bob Wendell
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Movie • 1991
Frank Stanley (archive footage)
The Many Faces of Dracula
Movie • 2000
Frank Stanley (archive footage)
Rhythm in the Clouds
Movie • 1937
Phil Hale
Who Killed Gail Preston?
Movie • 1938
'Swing' Traynor
Cain and Mabel
Movie • 1936
Ronny Cauldwell
Mister Big
Movie • 1943
Johnny Hanley
Tangier
Movie • 1946
Paul Kenyon
Meet the Boy Friend
Movie • 1937
Tony Page
Fired Wife
Movie • 1943
Hank Dunne
Dancing on a Dime
Movie • 1940
Ted Brooks
Women Without Names
Movie • 1940
Fred MacNeil
How's About It
Movie • 1943
George Selby
There's Always a Woman
Movie • 1938
Jerry Marlowe
The Red Stallion
Movie • 1947
Andy McBride
I Stand Accused
Movie • 1938
Joe Benson
The Green Promise
Movie • 1949
David Barkley
Rose Bowl
Movie • 1936
Football Player
Melody for Two
Movie • 1937
Mr. Carlson
Homicide Bureau
Movie • 1939
Thurston
Her Primitive Man
Movie • 1944
Peter Mathews / Pangi
First Love
Movie • 1939
Ball Guest
Parole Fixer
Movie • 1940
Steve Eddson
The Lady Objects
Movie • 1938
Ken Harper
The Cherokee Strip
Movie • 1937
Tom Valley
Frontier Badmen
Movie • 1943
Steve Logan
Once a Doctor
Movie • 1937
Dr. Burton
Emergency Squad
Movie • 1940
Chester 'Chesty' Miller
What's Cookin'?
Movie • 1942
Bob J. Riley
When G-Men Step In
Movie • 1938
G-Man Bruce Garth
Talent Scout
Movie • 1937
Bert Smith
The Last Warning
Movie • 1938
Tony Henderson (as Robert Page)
Almost Married
Movie • 1942
James Manning,lll
Melody Lane
Movie • 1941
Gabe Morgan
Hi'ya, Chum
Movie • 1943
Tommy Craig
Hi, Buddy
Movie • 1943
Johnny Blake
Pardon My Sarong
Movie • 1942
Tommy Layton
Get Going
Movie • 1943
Bob Carlton
Highway Patrol
Movie • 1938
William Rolph
Don't Get Personal
Movie • 1942
Paul Stevens
Keep 'Em Slugging
Movie • 1943
Star of Movie House Film
The Main Event
Movie • 1938
Mac Richards
You're Telling Me
Movie • 1942
Dr. Burnside 'Burnsy' Walker
Cowboy in Manhattan
Movie • 1943
Bob Allen
Crazy House
Movie • 1943
Robert Paige
Opened by Mistake
Movie • 1940
Jimmie Daniels
Death of a Champion
Movie • 1939
Alec Temple
It Happened to Jane
Movie • 1959
Robert Paige
What We Are Fighting For
Movie • 1943
Karl Baxter
Follow the Boys
Movie • 1944
Robert Paige (uncredited)
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self
The Millionaire
TV • 1955
Whitney Ames
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Bill Russell
Cavalcade of America
TV • 1952
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV • 1950
Self - Host
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
TV • 1960
Roger
Four Star Playhouse
TV • 1952
Paul Campbell
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Host
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
TV • 1953
Roger Libbott
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
TV • 1953
Sam
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Spokesman for Schlitz
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Narrator
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Self - Host