Obituaries

Beloved baritone Ken Page dies aged 70

The Broadway alum's golden vocals brought Old Deuteronomy to life CATS and the lion The magician to life, along with Oogie Boogie in The nightmare before Christmas.

Popular baritone, stage star and voice actor Ken Page died on September 30th at the age of 70. Mr Page's death was confirmed by his long-time friend, producer Dorian Hannaway.

Mr. Page possessed one of the most recognizable voices on Broadway, with a booming resonance that commanded respect from the first note. Born and raised in St. Louis, Mr. Page began his career in the chorus of The Muny before coming to New York, where he quickly became a star in the city as the lion during the original Broadway run The magician.

From then on, his Broadway career was varied, winning a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Boys and dollsAppearance in the original accompaniment by Ain't bad behavior Introducing American audiences to the wise ancient book of Deuteronomy Catsand appeared in the revue It's nothing but the blues.

Mr. Page's film appearances were sparse as he favored personal appearances, including in the 1988s torch song trilogy, the 2006 film adaptation dream girland the filmed stage performance of Cats. He appeared on television Give Me a Break!, Sable, Family Matters, Adventures in Wonderland, Touched by an Angeland more.

In the recording booth, Mr. Page made a lasting impression as the voice of Oogie Boogie in Tim Burton's classic stop-motion film The nightmare before Christmas. Since the film's premiere in 1993, Mr. Page has been indelibly associated with the month of October. He reprized his role frequently for Disney, providing fresh vocal lines for Halloween celebrations and video games as the spooky voice of the spooky season.

In his later years, Mr. Page developed a cabaret show called Page by pagewith which he toured the country. Mr. Page returned to the Muny frequently and appeared in more than 35 different productions (including several star returns). Cats) and had pursued a career as a director at the regional level.

Information about a public memorial will follow.