Ken Page, Voice Actor Known for Playing Oogie Boogie in 'The Nightmare Before Christmas,' Dead at 70
- Broadway legend and voice actor Ken Page, known for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Cats, has passed away at the age of 70.
Ken Page , a Broadway legend and renowned voice actor known for The Nightmare Before Christmas , has died. He was 70.
The veteran actor famously starred in the original Cats musical, as well as 1975's The Wiz .
Page's representative, Lance Kirkland, confirmed the news of his death in a statement to TMZ , sharing that the actor died "very peacefully" while at his home in St. Louis, Mo. on Monday, Sept. 30.
According to the outlet, Page "sat down in his chair and passed away in his sleep."
"He was a beautiful, talented man who was larger than life," his rep added. "Ken was loved and adored by so many and will be missed so much."
Many fans may remember Page's voice as that of the character Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton 's The Nightmare Before Christmas .
But he was perhaps most revered for his stage work, including his role as Old Deuteronomy in the original Broadway production and filmed stage adaptation of Cats . He also played the Lion as a replacement in the original production of The Wiz .
His other Broadway credits included roles in Guys and Dolls , Ain't Misbehavin' and It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues.'
Some of his on-screen projects include 1988's Torch Son Trilogy and 2006's Dreamgirls , plus TV appearances in Family Matters , Adventures in Wonderland , Touched By an Angel and more, per IMDb .
Following the news of his death, Page was memorialized by several of his show business colleagues, including his Cats co-star Elaine Paige, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her condolences.
"My wonderful Old Deuteronomy, Ken Page, in the 1998 theatrical movie version of @CatsMusical , has gone to the heaviside layer. We certainly are having a sad September. He was a lovely, kind, talented man. RIP Ken."
Producer and friend to Page, Dorian Hannaway, also took to Facebook to share the sad news, writing, "Ken Page has passed onto the next show. My heart is broken."
