Paige began his screen career in 1934, initially billed as David Carlyle[2] 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 played romantic leads in many Universal 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 another singer, Jane Frazee.

Paige left Universal after a corporate shakeup in 1946, when the studio temporarily abandoned its program of light entertainments in favor of serious, artistic films.

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).

[4] His only child, born when he was in his late 50s, is daughter Colleen Paige, a pet and home lifestyle expert, author, designer and the founder of National Dog Day, and many more philanthropic holidays.