Jose Paige, later known as Don Alvarado, received his screen name from Jack L. Warner, the studio chief, while driving past the Los Angeles street Alvarado.
As a young man, Paige left his hometown of Albuquerque at the age of 17 to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. He quickly befriended fellow struggling actor Gilbert Roland, and the two became close friends.
Paige met his future wife, Ann Boyar, while both were still teenagers, and the couple married and had a daughter named Joy. However, after six years of marriage, Ann fell in love with Jack Warner, and the couple divorced.
Warner waited several years before divorcing his wife, Irma, and marrying Ann. When asked about her decision to divorce Paige, Ann Warner joked, "the talkies, of course." This was likely a reference to the fact that Warner's studio had ushered in the sound era in 1928, and many silent actors, including Paige, had struggled to adapt to the new technology.
Paige continued to act in supporting roles, but his career never quite recovered from the shift to sound. He remained friends with Ann, who had married Warner, and later accepted a job as the manager of her 80,000-acre Arizona cattle ranch.
As the manager of the ranch, Paige used his skills as an experienced horseman and his knowledge of Spanish to oversee the operation. He was well-respected and liked by all accounts, and his career as a ranch manager was a fitting end to his long and varied career in the entertainment industry.
