Ken Page, Oogie Boogie in ‘The Problem Before Christmas,’ Passes away at 70 

Ken Page, the Broadway veteran who supplied the voice of the awful bad guy Oogie Boogie in the Tim Burton-produced The Problem Before Christmas, passed away Monday at his home in St. Louis, his associates stated. He was 70.

In his Broadway launching, Page actioned in as a replacement to play the Lion in the initial 1975-79 production of The Wiz

The baritone likewise stemmed the function of Old Deuteronomy in 1982 in the initial production of Felines; starred in the initial 1978-82 Broadway production of Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’; and played Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1976-77, all-Black revival of Guys and Dolls, a turn that made him a Theatre World Award.

Page was memorable as Oogie Boogie, the bug-filled Boogeyman, in The Problem Before Christmas ( 1993 ), directed by Henry Selick.

In a 2022 interview, he stated manufacturers were searching for “somebody who was Taxi Calloway-esque, Fats Waller-esque.” He included that he saw the character as “someplace in between the voice of the devil in The Exorcist and the afraid Lion in The Wizard of Oz“.

He later on voiced Oogie Boogie in computer game and at Disney theme-park tourist attractions.

Kenneth Page was born upon Jan. 20, 1954, in in St. Louis, where he went to Bishop DuBourg High School. He then learnt theater at Fontbonne College in Clayton, Missouri.

He played Joe “Cheesecake” Tyson on the 1987-88 ABC series Sable

His résumé likewise consisted of the movies Torch Tune Trilogy ( 1988 ), All Canines Go to Paradise ( 1989)– as the voice of King Gator– I’ll Do Anything ( 1994) and Dreamgirls ( 2006) and visitor areas on such programs as Charmed and Touched by an Angel

More just recently, Page established and starred in a cabaret program, Page by Page He typically appeared in plays at The Muny, a historical outside location in St. Louis.

This short article was initially released by The Hollywood Reporter.