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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 9.285 |
Birthday | 1911-12-02 |
Place of Birth | Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
Also Known As | John Arthur Paige, |
1943
Son of Dracula
5.9/117
Carpathian Count Alucard is invited to the U.S. by a young heiress. Her boyfriend and local officials are suspicious of the newcomer, who is intereste...
Watch Now
Son of Dracula
1963
Bye Bye Birdie
5.9/94
A singer goes to a small town for a performance before he is drafted.
Watch Now
Bye Bye Birdie
1953
Split Second
6.2/24
Escaped convicts hold hostages in a ghost town targeted for a nuclear bomb test.
Watch Now
Split Second
1953
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
5.561/49
Lester and Orville accidentally launch a rocket which is supposed to fly to Mars. Instead it goes to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. They are then forced...
Watch Now
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
1948
Blonde Ice
5.6/31
A golddigging femme fatale leaves a trail of men behind her, rich and poor, alive and dead.
Watch Now
Blonde Ice
1947
The Flame
5.429/7
George McAllister, the black sheep of a wealthy family who has squandered his share of the family inheritance, lives in constant jealousy, hatred and...
Watch Now
The Flame
1944
Can't Help Singing
5.1/7
With the California Gold Rush beginning, Senator Frost's singing daughter Caroline loves a young army officer; the Senator can't stand him, and has hi...
Watch Now
Can't Help Singing
1941
Hellzapoppin'
7.092/92
Olsen and Johnson, a pair of stage comedians, try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth...
Watch Now
Hellzapoppin'
1941
San Antonio Rose
7/1
San Antonio Rose is an amiably wacky mini-musical evenly divided between its "official" stars, The Merry Macs, and a strong cast of supporting clowns....
Watch Now
San Antonio Rose
1937
Smart Blonde
6.2/9
Ambitious reporter Torchy Blane guides her policeman boyfriend to correctly pinpoint who shot the man she was interviewing.
Watch Now
Smart Blonde
1942
Get Hep to Love
4/1
Orphan prodigy singer runs away from her oppressive aunt and tricks a rural couple into adopting her.
Watch Now
Get Hep to Love
1941
The Monster and the Girl
5.796/27
After a young woman is coerced into prostitution and her brother framed for murder by an organized crime syndicate, retribution in the form of an ape...
Watch Now
The Monster and the Girl
1961
The Marriage-Go-Round
4.8/4
An anthropology professor and his professor wife have the perfect marriage--until a Swedish colleague's daughter comes to visit. Not only is the litt...
Watch Now
The Marriage-Go-Round
1942
Jail House Blues
0/0
A prisoner about to be pardoned puts it off until he can put on one last variety show for his fellow inmates.
Watch Now
Jail House Blues
1940
Golden Gloves
5/2
An amateur boxer's girlfriend inspires him to face a ring pro entered by a gangster.
Watch Now
Golden Gloves
1945
Shady Lady
5.8/4
A crook becomes the victim of a crafty card player who works for the District Attorney.
Watch Now
Shady Lady
1937
Rhythm in the Clouds
5/1
Judy Walker is a poor songwriter who, through mistaken identity, gets her songs played on the radio.
Watch Now
Rhythm in the Clouds
1938
Who Killed Gail Preston?
6/1
A temperamental singer's murder leaves a nightclub full of suspects.
Watch Now
Who Killed Gail Preston?
1936
Cain and Mabel
6.2/10
A chorus girl and a heavyweight boxer are paired romantically as a publicity stunt.
Watch Now
Cain and Mabel
1943
Mister Big
2.2/2
Students at the Davis School of the Theatre are assigned "Antigone" as their class play, but they conspire to do a swing musical instead.
Watch Now
Mister Big
1946
Tangier
6.2/9
In Tangier, disgraced American war correspondent Paul Kenyon, café dancer Rita and local entrepreneur Pepe join forces to battle a Nazi diamond smuggl...
Watch Now
Tangier
1937
Meet the Boy Friend
6/5
A heartthrob singer, Tony Paige, also known as "America's Boyfriend" decides to wed a Swedish actress. His manager doesn't want this because he is afr...
Watch Now
Meet the Boy Friend
1943
Fired Wife
4.8/2
A Broadway producer's Girl Friday must make sure that her recent marriage is kept secret. If it gets out, she will lose her job. Unfortunately, her ne...
Watch Now
Fired Wife
1940
Dancing on a Dime
5/3
Director Ted Brooks and comedians Jack Norcross, Dandy Joslyn and Phil Miller are part of a troupe of promising young players rehearsing for a WPA sho...
Watch Now
Dancing on a Dime
1940
Women Without Names
4.8/3
Joyce and Fred MacNeil's honeymoon comes to an abrupt and unsatisfying halt when Fred is accused of murder. Railroaded into prison through the efforts...
Watch Now
Women Without Names
1943
How's About It
3.5/2
A song publisher gets sued for stealing lyrics.
Watch Now
How's About It
1938
There's Always a Woman
5.8/13
An investigator for the District Attorney's office quits to open his own detective agency. However, business is so bad that he finally decides to give...
Watch Now
There's Always a Woman
1947
The Red Stallion
0/0
Family film about an elderly rancher, her young grandson, and the horse that the child raises from a colt.
Watch Now
The Red Stallion
1949
The Green Promise
6.2/8
A stubborn farmer is raising his children alone. When his oldest daughter gets a suitor, the father nearly goes on the rampage, but he is forced to ch...
Watch Now
The Green Promise
1939
Homicide Bureau
6/1
After being criticized by the Citizens' League for his inability to cope with a crime wave, Police Captain Haines orders his men in the Homicide Burea...
Watch Now
Homicide Bureau
1937
Melody for Two
0/0
A singing bandleader signs on with an all-girls band.
Watch Now
Melody for Two
1944
Her Primitive Man
6/1
An anthropologist unwittingly takes a man disguised as a "primitive man" back to New York as a specimen.
Watch Now
Her Primitive Man
1939
First Love
7.8/12
In this reworking of Cinderella, orphaned Connie Harding is sent to live with her rich aunt and uncle after graduating from boarding school. She's har...
Watch Now
First Love
1940
Parole Fixer
0/0
This expose of the U.S. parole system, as seen through the eyes of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, takes dead aim on lawyers who manipulate the justice...
Watch Now
Parole Fixer
1937
The Cherokee Strip
6/1
A singing lawyer and other homesteaders participate in the Oklahoma land rush and found the town of Big Rock, but the fast-growing frontier settlement...
Watch Now
The Cherokee Strip
1938
The Lady Objects
5.2/5
A former college football hero and his college sweetheart get married. Marital turmoil ensues as her criminal law practice soars while he cannot get h...
Watch Now
The Lady Objects
1943
Frontier Badmen
0/0
A group of cowboys ending their cattle drive in Abilene find that cattle prices are being kept artificially low, driving down the price they'll get fo...
Watch Now
Frontier Badmen
1940
Emergency Squad
5/1
Betty Bryant is an ambitious newspaper reporter in love with Dan Barton, a member of a big-city Emergency Squad who are trained to deal with riots, ca...
Watch Now
Emergency Squad
1937
Once a Doctor
6.3/3
Dr. Frank Brace (Joe King) is an important doctor with son Jerry (Gordon Oliver) as well as foster son Steven (Donald Woods). The sons are both inte...
Watch Now
Once a Doctor
1938
When G-Men Step In
6/1
Having paid for the education and legal training of his younger brother, Bruce, with the idea that he would become a lawyer and join his business, Fre...
Watch Now
When G-Men Step In
1942
What's Cookin'?
5.5/2
J. P. Courtney wants to update the music on the radio program he sponsors, but his wife, Agatha Courtney, is the final authority and addicted to the c...
Watch Now
What's Cookin'?
1938
The Last Warning
0/0
In their third and last teaming, Bill Crane and Doc Williams visit a country estate to investigate threatening letters from the mysterious 'Eye.'
Watch Now
The Last Warning
1942
Pardon My Sarong
6.5/22
A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat t...
Watch Now
Pardon My Sarong
1937
Talent Scout
6/2
A Hollywood heartthrob helps a small-town girl achieve stardom.
Watch Now
Talent Scout
1941
Melody Lane
0/0
In this musical, four entertaining farmboys from Iowa head for the Big Apple to find fame and fortune but find themselves in trouble when a radio spon...
Watch Now
Melody Lane
1942
Almost Married
0/0
To avoid a costly breach of contract suit, a rich young man marries a nightclub singer.
Watch Now
Almost Married
1943
Hi'ya, Chum
0/0
Entertainers get stranded in a small boomtown, and open up a restaurant.
Watch Now
Hi'ya, Chum
1943
Hi, Buddy
7/3
Dick Foran and Harriet Hilliard (aka Harriet Nelson) top the cast of the Universal musical quickie Hi, Buddy. Foran plays GI Dave O'Connor, who comes...
Watch Now
Hi, Buddy
1943
Get Going
0/0
Judy King, newly arrived in Washington, applies for a secretary job with a government agency and while being interviewed by Bob Carlton, an agent with...
Watch Now
Get Going
1942
Don't Get Personal
3/2
Elmer Whippet inherits the Whippet Pickles company and sets out to meet the two stars, Mary Reynolds and John Stowe, of the radio program sponsored by...
Watch Now
Don't Get Personal
1943
Keep 'Em Slugging
5.5/4
A gang of tough street kids decide to go straight and get jobs in order to free draft-age men for the war effort. However, because of their past tangl...
Watch Now
Keep 'Em Slugging
1938
The Main Event
0/0
FBI agent Mac Richards takes his girlfriend, Helen Phillips, to a world championship boxing match only to learn that the event has been canceled becau...
Watch Now
The Main Event
1942
You're Telling Me
0/0
Hubert Abercrombie Gumm, a flighty, eccentric screwball acquires a job as an executive at a radio station at the insistence of his only-slightly less...
Watch Now
You're Telling Me
1943
Cowboy in Manhattan
0/0
Bob Allen, a struggling songwriter poses as a millionaire cowboy to win Broadway star Babs Lee.
Watch Now
Cowboy in Manhattan
1943
Crazy House
5/3
Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson are Broadway stars who return to Universal Studios to make another movie. The mere mention of Olsen and Johnson's names eva...
Watch Now
Crazy House
1940
Opened by Mistake
0/0
A wise-guy reporter and a tippling sportswriter acquire an unclaimed trunk with a corpse inside.
Watch Now
Opened by Mistake
1939
Death of a Champion
0/0
Oliver Quade is a pitchman who follows state fairs that feature dog shows---which limits his territory more than a little---at which he sells encyclop...
Watch Now
Death of a Champion
1959
It Happened to Jane
6.115/61
Jane Osgood runs a lobster business, which supports her two young children. Railroad staff inattention ruins her shipment, so with her lawyer George,...
Watch Now
It Happened to Jane
1939
Flying G-Men
6/1
Four flying G-Men protect America against enemy spies; one of the four assumes the identity of The Black Falcon, to befuddle the saboteurs even furthe...
Watch Now
Flying G-Men
1938
I Stand Accused
0/0
Fred, a young lawyer fresh out of school, climbs quickly to success as the mouthpiece for a gangland mob. His friend Paul, however, reaches equally qu...
Watch Now
I Stand Accused
1991
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
10/1
A history of the famous vampire of books and movies, using film clips, previews and other methods.
Watch Now
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
2000
The Many Faces of Dracula
5/1
Hosted by Christopher Lee, this documentary examines the different actors who have portrayed Dracula over the years.
Watch Now
The Many Faces of Dracula
1936
Rose Bowl
6/2
Paddy O'Riley and Ossie Merrill, Bellport high school football heroes, enroll in distant colleges; Paddy at a small school in the East, where he is ba...
Watch Now
Rose Bowl
1938
Highway Patrol
0/0
Arrested for speeding by highway patrolman Bill Rolph (Robert Paige), J.W. Brady (Robert Middlemass), the president of an oil refinery, offers him the...
Watch Now