Ken Page (born January 20, 1954) is an American actor and singer. Page created the role of "Ken" in the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of '' Ain't Misbehavin''', and played the role of "

Old Deuteronomy Old Deuteronomy is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 '' Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and its 1981 musical adaptation, ''Cats''. He is a wise and beloved elderly cat, further serving as the Jellicle patriarch in the musical. The role of O ...

" 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 o ...

''. 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 construc ...

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 largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

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 in

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 The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheatre, amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first ...

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 ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'' (

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 se ...

). He was then featured in the original cast of the

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

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

in ''

'', returning to the part in the 1998 video release. He also has the distinction of playing God twice: in ''

Randy Newman's Faust ''Randy Newman's Faust'' is a 1995 musical by American musician and songwriter Randy Newman, who based the work on the classic story of ''Faust'', borrowing elements from the version by Goethe, as well as Milton's ''Paradise Lost'', but updatin ...

'' at La Jolla Playhouse and

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the la ...

and in Stephen Schwartz's '' Children of Eden'' ( West End). Page frequently acts in shows at

, 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'', ''

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 origin ...

'', ''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 is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increme ...

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

All Dogs Go to Heaven ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' is a 1989 animated musical fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots a ...

'' and ''

Torch Song Trilogy ''Torch Song Trilogy'' is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: ''International Stud'', ''Fugue in a Nursery'', and ''Widows and Children First!'' The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a Jewish homosexual, drag ...

'', as well as ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,G ...

''. His TV credits include guest roles on shows such as ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

'' 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 theme ...

'' 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 '' HalloWish ...

'' 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 envisio ...

, 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 ...

'' 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