Ken Page (born January 20, 1954) is an American actor and singer. Page created the role of "Ken" in the original Broadway production of '' Ain't Misbehavin''', and played the role of " Old Deuteronomy" in both the original Broadway and filmed stage productions of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

''. Page is also known as the voice for

Oogie Boogie This article lists characters seen in the film ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and two video games: '' The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King'' and '' The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge''. Design The filmmakers constr ...

in ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' franchise.

Early life

Kenneth Page was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

by his mother, Gloria and his step-father, Garvin Gilstrap. He attended St. Bridget of Erin and St. Nicholas elementary schools. While attending St. Nicholas, he was inspired by a teacher and an older cousin to pursue theater. He subsequently graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School in 1973. From there he attended

Fontbonne College Fontbonne University is a private Roman Catholic university in Clayton, Missouri. It enrolled 955 students in 2021. Fontbonne is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and it offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degree programs. It ...

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...

on a full scholarship and majored in theater.

Career

Page began his career in the chorus of The Muny outdoor theater in St. Louis. After making his Broadway debut in ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'', Page played Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the all-black revival of '' Guys and Dolls'' (

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre s ...

). He was then featured in the original cast of the Fats Waller musical revue, '' Ain't Misbehavin''' (Drama Desk Award), a role he reprised in the 1982 television broadcast. He also returned to the show in its 1988 Broadway revival. In 1982, he played Old Deuteronomy in ''

'', returning to the part in the 1998 video release. He also has the distinction of playing God twice: in '' Randy Newman's Faust'' at La Jolla Playhouse and Goodman Theatre and in Stephen Schwartz's '' Children of Eden'' (

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

). Page frequently acts in shows at The Muny, with appearances including ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'', ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', ''My One and Only'', and ''Little Shop of Horrors''. Besides ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American Stop motion, stop-motion animated film, animated musical film, musical dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Henry Seli ...

'', Page's major film credits include ''

All Dogs Go to Heaven ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' is a 1989 animated musical fantasy adventure comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and co-directed by Gary Goldman (his directorial debut) and Dan Kuenster. It tells the story of Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt ...

'' and '' Torch Song Trilogy'', as well as '' Dreamgirls''. His TV credits include guest roles on shows such as '' Charmed'' and ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American fantasy drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced ...

'', as well as various movies and specials. In later years, Page has developed and performed his cabaret-singer show, ''Page by Page'', and directed various regional and touring productions. Page was the voice of the notorious talking plant Audrey II in the Muny's production of ''Little Shop of Horrors''. He also reprised the role of Old Deuteronomy in the Lubbock Moonlight Musicals production of ''Cats'' in Lubbock, TX. He regularly reprises his role as Oogie Boogie in several other Disney productions such as the fireworks display ''

HalloWishes ''HalloWishes'' (also known by its full title, ''Happy HalloWishes: A Grim Grinning Ghosts Spooktacular in the Sky'') was a fireworks show that took place during " Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom t ...

'' at Walt Disney World's

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

, its sister show, ''

Halloween Screams ''Halloween Screams: A Villainous Surprise in the Skies'' is a Halloween-themed fireworks show that is presented at Disneyland during the seasonal Mickey's Halloween Party event. Based on the similarly-themed, former fireworks show ''HalloWis ...

'' at

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisi ...

, the Haunted Mansion Holiday (also at Disneyland), the '' Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular'' (at Magic Kingdom) and subsequent video games including '' The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Pumpkin King'', '' The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge'' and the ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square E ...

'' series.

Personal life

In a 2015 interview with '' St. Louis Magazine'', Page said that he identifies as gay.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Broadway

Off Broadway

Regional

The Muny-St. Louis

Other

* 1979: ''Ain't Misbehavin as Performer 4 (US Tour) * 1991: '' Children of Eden'' as Father/God (West End) * 2018: ''The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl'' as Oogie Boogie * 2019: ''The Little Mermaid: An Immersive Live-to-Film Concert Experience'' as Sebastian

Discography

Singles

*''Page by Page'' (2008)

Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Page, Ken African-American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Cabaret singers Drama Desk Award winners Living people Male actors from St. Louis Singers from Missouri American male musical theatre actors American gay actors LGBT African Americans LGBT people from Missouri 1954 births African-American Catholics 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers