Page was a mainstay of the New York stage, playing major roles in the original Broadway casts of such hit musicals as Cats and The Wiz.
The Nightmare Before Christmas star Ken Page, who enjoyed a glittering career on Broadway, has died at the age of 70.
He reached a new generation of fans in the 1990s as the voice of Oogie Boogie, the villain of Tim Burton's animated classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. After studying theater at college on a full scholarship, he struck out to New York City in the mid-1970s to make his bones on the stage. The Wiz originally opened in 1975 with Ted Ross in the role of the Lion, with Page eventually stepping in as his replacement.
One of his most beloved roles was as the Cowardly Lion in The Wiz, which opened on Broadway in 1975 with Ted Ross in the role, with Page replacing him in 1977 Page ultimately left the show because of his mounting medical issues, but always retained an affection for the material, attending the opening night of a revival of The Wiz on Broadway earlier this year.
In 1982, he played Old Deuteronomy in the original Broadway production of Cats, which was preceded by a feverish media frenzy when it arrived in New York City after a sensationally successful run in London. 'Why do I still do it?' he said onstage during his cabaret act in July: 'I want to give people joy'; he is pictured at The Coast Playhouse in 2010
Cats was also a show that remained a part of Page's life for a long time, with him repeatedly reprising the role of Old Deuteronomy as he got older. 'Disney has been wonderful to me over the years,' he told Direct Conversations. 'When I see little kids, because they don’t often connect the person and the voice of a character they see on film, I’ll bend down and go:"Well, well, well. What have we here?" When you see their faces light up, it’s worth a million bucks.'
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