close
close

Broadway's Ken Page, star of “Cats” and “The Wiz,” has died at age 70

Ken Page, the standout Broadway actor and voice of Oogie Boogie in the film “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” has died.

He was 70.

Page's representative, Lance Kirkland, told TMZ that he died “very peacefully” at his home in St. Louis on Monday.

“He was a beautiful, talented man, larger than life. “Ken was loved and adored by so many and we will miss him greatly,” Kirkland added.


Ken Page starred in “Cats” at the Winter Garden Theater. Cats The Musical/YouTube

Page, who had a powerful baritone, is perhaps best known for playing Old Deuteronomy, the leader of the Jellicles, in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical “Cats” in the 1980s.

But many will recognize his voice as that of Oogie Boogie, the villainous Halloween Town villain in Tim Burton's 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Page made his Broadway debut as Lion in “The Wiz,” singing “I'm A Mean Old Lion” and “Ease On Down The Road.”

The actor played Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1976 Broadway Theater all-black revival of Guys and Dolls and was part of the original five-member cast of the revue Ain't Misbehavin'. the Longacre, alongside Nell Carter and André De Shields.

He then donned a large fur coat as Old Deuteronmy, the fatherly figure in “Cats,” who wails the tunes “Moments of Happiness” and “The Addressing of Cats.”

Page also appeared in other films besides “Nightmare” and the 1998 film version of “Cats.”


Oogie Boogie
He is also known for singing Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas. ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

He voiced King Gator in 1989's “All Dogs Go to Heaven” and played Max Washington in 2006's “Dreamgirls” with Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy with Jennifer Hudson.

Page's last Broadway appearance was in the musical “It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues” at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in 1999.

British actress Elaine Page (no relation), who played Grizabella alongside Ken Page in 1998's “Cats,” paid tribute to her fellow cat.

“My wonderful old Deuteronomy, Ken Page, in the 1998 theatrical version [‘Cats’]has passed into the Heaviside layer,” she wrote. “We are certainly having a sad September. He was a kind, kind and talented man. RIP Ken.”