After making his Broadway debut in The Wiz, Ken Page took the featured role of “Nicely-Nicely” in a Broadway revival of the Damon Runyon musical Guys and Dolls. He followed that up with a turn in Ain’t Misbehavin’, the acclaimed musical biography of jazz pianist Fats Waller. Ken reprised the role in a television broadcast of the show, as well as another turn when the show was revived in 1988.
Very much in demand, Ken was featured in Cats, Little Shop of Horrors, Les Misérables, Faust, Jesus Christ Superstar, Aida and many others. In 1993, producer Tim Burton tapped Ken to voice the villainous “Oogie Boogie” in the stop-motion masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas. Ken was so associated with the role that he voiced the character for a number of other appearances including the holiday overlay of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland, a voice over for theme park Halloween fireworks display and a live performance of the music at the Hollywood Bowl.
Still active, sought after for roles and enjoying mingling with fans at conventions, Ken unexpectedly passed away in his sleep in 2024 at the age of 70.