Robert Paige

Robert Paige
Robert Paige in 1957
Born	John Arthur Paige (1911-12-02)December 2, 1911 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died	December 21, 1987(1987-12-21) (aged 76) San Clemente, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1934-1963
Spouse(s)	Betty Henning (1940-1960; divorce) Joanne Ludden (1962-1977; divorce); 1 child Maxine Hoppe (1985-1987; his death)

Robert Paige (left) and Frank Parker on Bride and Groom (TV series) (1957)

Robert Paige (born John Arthur Paige, December 2, 1911 – December 21, 1987) was an actor and a TV newscaster and political correspondent and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime: he was the only actor ever allowed to sing on film with Deanna Durbin (in 1944's Can't Help Singing).

Early life

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1911, Paige was related to Admiral David Beatty, hero of the World War I Battle of Jutland.

Education

Paige was a graduate of West Point.

Career

Paige began his screen career in 1934, initially billed as David Carlyle. to avoid confusion with another rising leading man, John Payne. 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. 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, he moved to Paramount Pictures, appeared in the 1941 horror film The Monster and the Girl, and then finally found a home in 1941 at Universal Pictures. Robert Paige quickly became one of Universal's reliable stars, playing romantic leads in many of their comedies and musicals, including those of Abbott and Costello, Olsen and Johnson, Gloria Jean, and Hugh Herbert, as well as numerous B-musicals, often paired with the vivacious Grace McDonald. He may be best-remembered today for his heroic leading role in the classic 1943 horror film Son of Dracula. Paige 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 which no longer exists). In the 1960s, he became a TV newscaster in Los Angeles at KABC-TV, Channel 7.

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.

Death

Robert Paige died from a sudden aortic aneurysm in 1987. He was 76 years old.

Spouses

• Maxine Hoppe (1985-1987; his death)
• Joanne Ludden (1962-1977; divorce); 1 child
• Betty Henning (1940-1960; divorce)

Children

His only child, born when he was in his late 50's, is daughter Colleen Paige, a pet and home lifestyle expert, author, designer and the founder of National Dog Day, and many more philanthropic holidays. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California with her family and a menagerie of pets.

Filmography

• Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
• The Barbara Stanwyck Show (1 episode, 1961)
• The Marriage-Go-Round (1961)
• The Millionaire (1 episode, 1960)
• It Happened to Jane (1959)
• The Big Payoff (1957-1959)
• Bride and Groom (1951) TV Series (1957–58)
• The Colgate Comedy Hour (4 episodes, 1955)
• The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse (4 episodes, 1953-1954)
• Four Star Playhouse (1 episode, 1954)
• Cavalcade of America (1 episode, 1953)
• Lux Video Theatre (1 episode, 1953)
• Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
• Split Second (1953)
• The Schaefer Century Theatre (2 episodes, 1952)
• The Unexpected (1 episode, 1952)
• Fireside Theatre (1 episode, 1952)
• Gruen Guild Playhouse (1 episode, 1952)
• Out There (1 episode, 1951)
• The Green Promise (1949)
• Blonde Ice (1948)
• The Flame (1947)
• The Red Stallion (1947)
• Tangier (1946)
• Shady Lady (1945)
• Can't Help Singing (1944)
• Her Primitive Man (1944)
• Golden Gloves (1944)
• Son of Dracula (1943)
• Crazy House (1943) (uncredited)
• Fired Wife (1943)
• Frontier Badmen (1943)
• Get Going (1943)
• Mister Big (1943)
• What We Are Fighting For (1943)
• Cowboy in Manhattan (1943)
• Keep 'Em Slugging (1943) (in stock footage from Hi'Ya, Chum)
• Hi, Buddy (1943)
• Hi'Ya, Chum (1943)
• How's About It (1943)

• You Can't Buy *Everything (1934) as Wedding extra (uncredited)
• Crime of Helen Stanley (1934)
• Annapolis Farewell (1935) as Ensign (uncredited)
• Hearts in Bondage (1936) as Union Lt. Evans (uncredited)
• Cain and Mabel (1936) as Ronny Cauldwell (as David Carlyle)
• Rose Bowl (1936) as Football Player (uncredited)
• Smart Blonde (1937) as Lewis Friel (as David Carlyle)
• Once a Doctor (1937) as Dr. Burton (as David Carlyle)
• Melody for Two (1937) as Mr. Carlson (uncredited)
• The Cherokee Strip (1937) as Tom Valley (as David Carlyle)
• Rhythm in the Clouds (1937) as Phil Hale
• Meet the Boyfriend (1937) as Tony Page (as David Carlyle)
• Talent Scout (1937) as Bert Smith (as David Carlyle)
• Sergeant Murphy (1938) as Lt. Duncan (uncredited)
• The Kid Comes Back (1938) as Radio Announcer (as David Carlyle)
• Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938) as 'Swing' Traynor
• When G-Men Step In (1938) as G-Man Bruce Garth
• There's Always a Woman (1938) as Jerry Marlowe
• The Main Event (1938) as Mac Richards
• Highway Patrol (1938) as William Rolph
• The Lady Objects (1938) as Ken Harper
• I Stand Accused (1938) as Joe Benson
• The Last Warning (1938) as Tony Henderson (as Robert Page)
• Homicide Bureau (1939) as Thurston
• Flying G-Men (1939) as Hal Andrews / The Black Falcon
• Death of a Champion (1939) as Alec Temple
• First Love (1939) as Ball Guest (uncredited)
• Emergency Squad (1940) as Chester 'Chesty' Miller
• Parole Fixer (1940) as Steve Eddson
• Women Without Names (1940) as Fred MacNeil
• Opened by Mistake (1940) as Jimmie Daniels
• Golden Gloves (1940) as Wally Matson
• Dancing on a Dime (1940) as Ted Brooks
• The Monster and the Girl (1941) as Larry Reed
• The Flame of New Orleans (1941) as Narrator (uncredited)
• San Antonio Rose (1941) as Con Conway
• Melody Lane (1941) as Gabe Morgan
• Hellzapoppin' (1941) as Jeff Hunter
• Don't Get Personal (1942) as Paul Stevens
• Jail House Blues (1942) as Cliff Bailey
• What's Cookin'? (1942) as Bob J. Riley
• You're Telling Me (1942) as Dr. Burnside 'Burnsy' Walker
• Almost Married (1942) as James Manning,lll
• Pardon My Sarong (1942) as Tommy Layton
• Get Hep to Love (1942) as Stephen Winters

External links

• Robert Paige at IMDb
• Robert Paige at Find a Grave