NEW YORK – Ken Page, a stage and screen actor who starred with Beyoncé in “Dreamgirls,” introduced Broadway audiences to Old Deuteronomy in “Cats” and as the voice of Oogie Boogie, the villain of the 1993 animated holiday film Scared generations of children. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is dead. He was 70 years old.
Talent agent Todd M. Eskin of ATB Talent Agency announced the death to The Associated Press on Tuesday, but no details were immediately available.
“He was one of the nicest, most generous souls I know. Full of life and full of joy. Genius and then some. Ken, my friend, you will be greatly missed,” writer-producer Tim Burton wrote on X.
Page made his Broadway debut playing the Cowardly Lion in “The Wiz”, and played Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls” with Robert Guillaume. He was also included in the original cast of the Fats Waller musical Ain’t Misbehavin’, which won a Drama Desk Award, when it returned to Broadway in 1988.
Page originated the role of wise Old Deuteronomy when “Cats” landed on Broadway in 1982 and scored a then-record run, singing “Old Deuteronomy,” “The Moments of Happiness” and “The Ad-Dressing of Cats.”
Ellen Paige, who originated the role of Grizabella in “Cats” and reprized the role in the 1998 film version of “Cats”, paid tribute to her co-star on X, saying that Paige has “gone to the next level” and added , ” He was a lovely, kind, brilliant man.
In 2010, Page revisited Old Deuteronomy at the Muny – the Municipal Theater Association of St. Louis – and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s critic said: “Page, a looming gentle presence, plays the role of the feline spirit guide perfectly. Se,” adding, “Maybe no one will bow down to a cat while singing ‘Oh Cat,’ but Page might make you at least consider it.”
Page would perhaps make his most profound impact as the voice of Oogie Boogie, a burlap sack with hundreds of insects crawling inside it, in Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Leader for other holidays. “It’s depressing/You’re done/You don’t have a prayer/’Cause I’m Mister Oogie Boogie/And you’re not going anywhere,” he sang to Santa.
He will reprise the role of Oogie Boogie in both the video game and the film’s 30th anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023. He also voiced King Gator in Disney’s 1989 animated film “All Dogs Go to Heaven”.
His other film credits include 1988’s “Torch Song Trilogy”, in which he played witty drag queen Murray, and 2006’s “Dreamgirls” in which he played Max Washington. His TV credits include “Family Matters,” “Touched by an Angel” and “Charmed.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
