As a fan who has grown up with the magical world of Broadway and animation, I am deeply saddened by the passing of Ken Page. His extraordinary talent and charisma brought characters like Oogie Boogie from the pages of a script to life in a way that will forever be etched in our memories.
On Monday, Ken Page, a seasoned Broadway actor known for voicing the frightful antagonist Oogie Boogie in the Tim Burton-created movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” passed away at his residence in St. Louis, as confirmed by his representatives. He was 70 years old.
Making his first appearance on Broadway, Page took over the role of The Lion in the original 1975-79 run of “The Wiz” as a stand-in.
In 1982, the baritone initially portrayed Old Deuteronomy’s role in the first staging of Cats; shone in the original Broadway run of Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, from 1978 to 1982; and assumed the character of Nicely-Nicely Johnson during the all-Black revival of Guys and Dolls, which took place between 1976 and 1977. This performance garnered him a Theatre World Award.
The individual was notably reminiscent of Oogie Boogie, the creepy character filled with insects who played the role of the Boogeyman, in the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), which was helmed by director Henry Selick.
In a 2022 interview, he mentioned that producers were seeking an actor resembling Cab Calloway or Fats Waller. He further described the character as being akin to the voice of the demon from The Exorcist and the cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz – somewhere in between these two extremes.
He later voiced Oogie Boogie in video games and at Disney theme-park attractions.
Kenneth Page hails from the bustling city of St. Louis and was born on the 20th of January, 1954. He completed his high school education at Bishop DuBourg High School within the same city. Later, he pursued a major in theater arts at Fontbonne College, located in Clayton, Missouri.
He played Joe “Cheesecake” Tyson on the 1987-88 ABC series Sable.
His list of credits features the movies ‘Torch Song Trilogy’ from 1988, ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven’ in 1989 where he voiced King Gator, ‘I’ll Do Anything’ in 1994 and ‘Dreamgirls’ in 2006. Additionally, he made appearances on series like ‘Charmed’ and ‘Touched by an Angel’.
More recently, Page developed and starred in a cabaret show, Page by Page.
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2024-10-01 19:54