The Nightmare Before Christmas star Ken Page, who enjoyed a brilliant career on Broadway, has died at the age of 70.
His friend, television producer Dorian Hannaway, announced his death on Monday but did not reveal the cause of his death.
‘Ken Page has moved on to the next program. “I’m heartbroken,” he wrote on his Facebook page, prompting an avalanche of hurt comments.
Page was a mainstay on the New York stage, playing major roles in the original Broadway productions of such hit musicals as Cats and The Wiz.
He came to 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.
The Nightmare Before Christmas star Ken Page, who enjoyed a brilliant career on Broadway, has died at the age of 70; photographed this April
Page was born in 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri, where he developed an interest in the arts as a child, listening to Barbra Streisand and reading the novel To Sir, With Love.
He was always fascinated by theater, writing and directing musicals when he was in high school, according to Saint Louis magazine.
After studying theater in college on a full scholarship, he moved to New York City in the mid-1970s to carve out a niche for himself on the stage.
Just two years after arriving in New York, he made his Broadway debut in the 1976 all-black revival of the classic 1950s musical Guys And Dolls.
Page had an excellent role, playing a player who leads a prayer meeting to the powerful gospel number Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat.
His role in Guys And Dolls established him on Broadway and prepared him for one of the biggest roles of his career: the Cowardly Lion in The Wiz.
The Wiz originally premiered in 1975 with Ted Ross in the role of the Lion, and Page eventually stepped in as his replacement.
Page always spoke glowingly of the show in artistic terms, but the rigorous choreography and heavy costumes caused him health problems.
He came to 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.
One of his most beloved roles was the Cowardly Lion in The Wiz, which premiered on Broadway in 1975 with Ted Ross in the role, and Page replaced him in 1977.
Just two years after arriving in New York, he made his Broadway debut in the all-black revival of Guys And Dolls in 1976; appears in the photo (right) in the program with Christophe Pierre (left)
His sweat became trapped in the costume and began to toxically leak into his body, and he developed knee problems from crawling around the stage.
Only then did he discover that Ted Ross had had to have his knees drained once a week while he was on The Wiz, Page said. A musical theater podcast.
Page eventually left the show due to his mounting medical problems, but always maintained his affection for the material, attending the opening night of a Broadway revival of The Wiz earlier this year.
Then came another career coup: Page landed a lead role in the original Broadway cast of the beloved play Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 1978.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ was a jukebox musical dedicated to the work of Fats Waller, an interwar jazz legend whose mannerisms were stunningly captured by Page.
Page maintained a connection with the show throughout his life, repeatedly directing productions of Ain’t Misbehavin’ at various theaters across the United States.
In 1982, he played the role of Old Man 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 sensational success in London.
With music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and an old book of children’s poetry by TS Eliot, the plotless dance show became a groundbreaking piece of Broadway history, thanks in large part to Gillian Lynne’s choreography.