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

• 2000The Many Faces of Dracula — Frank Stanley (archive footage)
• 1992Dracula in the Movies — (archive footage)
• 1991Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook — Frank Stanley (archive footage)
• 1963Bye Bye Birdie — Bob Precht
• 1961The Marriage-Go-Round — Dr. Ross Barnett
• The Barbara Stanwyck Show — Roger
• 1959It Happened to Jane — Robert Paige
• The Millionaire — Whitney Ames
• 1953Abbott and Costello Go to Mars — Dr. Wilson
• 1953Split Second — Arthur Ashton
• The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse — Roger Libbott, Sam
• Cavalcade of America
• Four Star Playhouse — Paul Campbell
• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars — Host, Spokesman for Schlitz, Narrator, Self - Host
• Lux Video Theatre — Bill Russell
• 1949The Green Promise — David Barkley, Producer
• 1948Blonde Ice — Les Burns
• 1947The Flame — Barry MacAllister
• 1947The Red Stallion — Andy McBride
• 1946Tangier — Paul Kenyon
• 1945Shady Lady — Bob Wendell
• 1944Can't Help Singing — Johnny Lawlor
• 1944Follow the Boys — Robert Paige (uncredited)
• 1944Her Primitive Man — Peter Mathews / Pangi
• 1943Cowboy in Manhattan — Bob Allen
• 1943Crazy House — Robert Paige
• 1943Fired Wife — Hank Dunne
• 1943Frontier Badmen — Steve Logan
• 1943Get Going — Bob Carlton
• 1943Hi'ya, Chum — Tommy Craig
• 1943Hi, Buddy — Johnny Blake
• 1943How's About It — George Selby
• 1943Keep 'Em Slugging — Star of Movie House Film
• 1943Mister Big — Johnny Hanley
• 1943Son of Dracula — Frank Stanley
• 1943What We Are Fighting For — Karl Baxter
• 1942Almost Married — James Manning,lll
• 1942Don't Get Personal — Paul Stevens
• 1942Get Hep to Love — Stephen Winters
• 1942Jail House Blues — Cliff Bailey
• 1942Pardon My Sarong — Tommy Layton
• 1942What's Cookin'? — Bob J. Riley
• 1942You're Telling Me — Dr. Burnside 'Burnsy' Walker
• 1941Hellzapoppin' — Jeff Hunter
• 1941Melody Lane — Gabe Morgan
• 1941San Antonio Rose — Con Conway
• 1941The Monster and the Girl — Larry Reed
• 1940Dancing on a Dime — Ted Brooks
• 1940Emergency Squad — Chester 'Chesty' Miller
• 1940Golden Gloves — Wally Matson
• 1940Opened by Mistake — Jimmie Daniels
• 1940Parole Fixer — Steve Eddson
• 1940Women Without Names — Fred MacNeil
• 1939Death of a Champion — Alec Temple
• 1939First Love — Ball Guest
• 1939Flying G-Men — Hal Andrews / The Black Falcon
• 1939Homicide Bureau — Thurston
• 1938Highway Patrol — William Rolph
• 1938I Stand Accused — Joe Benson
• 1938The Lady Objects — Ken Harper
• 1938The Last Warning — Tony Henderson (as Robert Page)
• 1938The Main Event — Mac Richards
• 1938There's Always a Woman — Jerry Marlowe
• 1938When G-Men Step In — G-Man Bruce Garth
• 1938Who Killed Gail Preston? — 'Swing' Traynor
• 1937Meet the Boy Friend — Tony Page
• 1937Melody for Two — Mr. Carlson
• 1937Once a Doctor — Dr. Burton
• 1937Rhythm in the Clouds — Phil Hale
• 1937Smart Blonde — Lewis Friel
• 1937Talent Scout — Bert Smith
• 1937The Cherokee Strip — Tom Valley
• 1936Cain and Mabel — Ronny Cauldwell
• 1936Rose Bowl — Football Player

Appearances as themselves (1)

• The Colgate Comedy Hour — Self, Self - Host