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Marvin Paige

11/15/2013

 
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My friend Tony Villani informed me this morning that Marvin Paige, the well-respected casting director, has passed away recently.  He worked on the films Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Take the Money and Run and Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the daytime soap General Hospital, and many other projects. Mr. Villani, himself an actor and filmmaker, had this to say:  

I loved Marvin Paige! I had been having a funny feeling something bad might be going on...wondering what that foreboding meant so I finally called his home two days ago. Atypically his mailbox was full, and that somehow scared me. Though I didn't know it then, that was the very day Marvin died. Funny how you can tell about certain things...how you get certain feelings when you have a strong connection with someone. I last talked to Marvin about a month ago, maybe hours before the terrible crash. He had had to rush his beloved cat Rah to the vet but things seemed to be OK. He sounded busy, sympathetic, and funny as always. In a business where it's hard to trust anyone, Marvin was an exception. He had good ethics. He was much more than a well known casting agent. He had known and knew everyone that mattered in Hollywood. He respected them and they respected him. He collected and preserved tons of photographs and newspapers and magazines, and whatever else he considered meaningful  - and he could always tell what was or wasn't. He knew Hollywood inside and out like few others before and after him. His advice was informed and clever and caring, and always sound. Knowing that he liked my work was quite a compliment but not quite as big as knowing he liked me as a person. He was eccentric, compassionate, and never cynical. He saw a lot of the friends and people he knew in Hollywood (and he knew everyone in this town...) age, give up, or go before him but he himself was always out there, ever active and involved. He was always helpful. If you dealt with Marvin, you knew he would not let you down. He could shock you at times but he was always a gentleman. He was a true friend. He will be sorely missed.  God Rest Marvin. ~ Tony Villani


I myself didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mr. Paige, but my deepest condolences to his friends, family and colleagues, he will be very much missed.  
Darlene Ramirez
12/20/2013 03:50:41 pm

I, like Tony, loved and adored Marvin. I have known Marvin since 1992.

When Ron Haver tapped me to be his successor at LACMA, Marvin was one of the very first people who kindly and honestly wanted to assist me with my vision of cinema by introducing the museum's audience to actors and filmmakers. For neatly five years Marvin and I talked almost every week. He opened incredible doors for me and our LACMA members. All of us spent memorable nights with Jack Lemmon, Gregory Peck, Ginger Rodgers, Bob Hope, Mel Brooks, Fay Wray, Kathryn Grayson, Jerry Lewis, Robert Wise, Stanley Donen, George Sidney, and just add about 200 more cinematic icons to that list.

He was my friend and even months ago, after all these years, we were still friends. He used his crazy jokes to always introduce me to the reality of his life.

I, again like Tony have been thinking of him for months. And it wasn't until today that I found out about his passing - I am truly heartbroken because he was the most unfake person in Hollywood. I never found a person who knew him who didn't care about him.

Marvin, my friend, may you have a glorious mansion in heaven and the best seat in the house ( ad you always found one for me whenever we went to a play, concert or movie).

Love always,

Darlene Ramirez

Joy link
12/21/2013 12:08:38 am

What a wonderful tribute, thank you so much, Darlene!


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    Joy Bennett is a Santa Monica, California writer. She writes a blog for the Jewish Journal in Los Angeles, and is a contributor to the Huffington Post and Medium.com. 

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