ST. LOUIS — Ken Page, a stage and screen actor known around St. Louis as "The Voice of the Muny," has died at the age of 70.
Page, a Bishop DuBourg High School grad and long time St. Louisian, starred alongside Beyoncé in “Dreamgirls,” introduced Broadway audiences to Old Deuteronomy in “Cats” and scared generations of kids as the voice of Oogie Boogie, the villain of the 1993 animated holiday film ”The Nightmare Before Christmas,″ has died.
His voice was also a familiar sound at the Muny in St. Louis. Since 2013, his deep voice welcomed audience members before each performance.
Talent agent Todd M. Eskin of ATB Talent Agency announced the death Tuesday to The Associated Press, but no details were immediately available.
“He was simply one of the best, most generous souls I know. Full of life and overflowing with joy. Talented and then some. Ken, my friend, you will be deeply missed,” writer-producer Tim Burton wrote on X.
Page made his Broadway debut in “The Wiz,” playing the Cowardly Lion, and went on to portray Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls” with Robert Guillaume. He also was featured in the original cast of the Fats Waller musical Ain’t Misbehavin,'" winning a Drama Desk Award, and was aboard when it returned to Broadway in 1988.
Page originated the role of wise Old Deuteronomy when “Cats” landed on Broadway in 1982 and went on to a then-record run, singing “Old Deuteronomy,” “The Moments of Happiness” and “The Ad-Dressing of Cats.”
Elaine Paige, who originated the role of Grizabella in “Cats” and reprised the role in the 1998 “Cats” film version, paid tribute to her co-star on X, saying Page “has gone to the heaviside layer" and adding, "He was a lovely, kind, talented man.”
In 2010, Page revisited the Old Deuteronomy at the Muny and the critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said: "Page, a looming gentle presence, fills the role of the feline spirit guide to the hilt," adding, “Maybe nobody’s going to bow to a kitty while intoning ‘OH CAT,’ but Page can make you at least consider it.”
He first took thet stage at the Muny in 1972 and graced its stages for more than 45 shows. During the 2024 season, he played Bishop of Digne in "Les Misérables.
Mike Isaacson, the Muny Artistic Director & Executive Producer says his death is a profound and painful loss. He says his last role was very fitting.
"On this sad day, I hold onto the memory of his last role on our stage: The bishop in ‘Les Misérables,’ a gentle man who asks us to live in kindness and forgiveness and to find a higher purpose as we journey through life. That was the gift Ken also gave everyone in his life, and I’m forever grateful for the many ways he gave it to me. Each night, at the very end of the curtain call for Les Misérables, Ken would raise his hands and silently bless the entire company and then the audience. We’ll all live in that blessing.”
His other movie credits include 1988’s “Torch Song Trilogy,” in which he played the witty drag queen Murray, and 2006’s “Dreamgirls,” in which he played Max Washington. His TV credits include “Family Matters,” “Touched by an Angel” and “Charmed.”