A number of celebrity greats have passed away this past week; legendary singer Kris Kristofferson (“A Star Is Born,” “Blade”), Maggie Smith (the “Harry Potter” movies, “Downtown Abbey,” “Hook”), John Amos (“Good Times,” “Roots,” “Die Hard 2”), and John Ashton (the “Beverly Hills Cop” films). While each have received their deserved tributes in the media, I was personally saddened to learn of another loss. Actor/singer/performer Ken Page passed away in his sleep on September 30th at the too-soon age of 70.  I prefer not writing obituaries in this column unless I had or felt some unique connection to the deceased on some level. In this case, I did.

After meeting Ken Page at the ‘Frank and Son Collectibles’ weekly trade show in the City of Industry twelve years ago, it was no surprise to learn Page had an extensive background in musical theater.  The St. Louis, Missouri native was a naturally gifted stage performer.  He played the patriarchal feline “Old Deuteronomy” in the original 1981 production of “Cats”; a role he immortalized in a 1998 video production (he was mercifully not involved with the more recent cinematic train wreck). The actor-singer was also “The Cowardly Lion” in the original 1975 Broadway production of “The Wiz,” and was in 1978’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” He also appeared in the Oscar-winning 2006 adaptation of “Dreamgirls.”

I also remember seeing Page’s performance as the drag queen “Murray” in the 1988 big screen version of writer/performer Harvey Fierstein’s theatrical passion project, “Torch Song Trilogy”; a then rare landmark in LGBTQ+ cinema. “Torch Song Trilogy” opened doors for other mainstream LGBTQ+ films, including 1993’s “Philadelphia,” 1996’s “The Birdcage” (an adaptation of the 1978 French farce “La Cage aux Folles”), and many more.

These days, onscreen queer representation in movies and TV shows is more or less commonplace, as it should be, and Ken Page was of the trailblazers. On the subject of his own sexuality, Page had this to say:

“I’m not closeted.  Never have been to my knowledge. But ‘gay’ means so many different things to people. Be careful. I understand, believe me—because I fought for your label.  But don’t define yourself by the label you put on yourself.” 

Ken Page was also featured in many television roles, including the popular 1990s sitcom “Family Matters,” where he got to utilize his singing talents, and the equally popular CW TV series, “Charmed.”

The role that forever cemented Ken Page into my own heart and mind, is, of course, that of “Oogie Boogie” in the iconic 1993 Disney stop-motion animated film “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”  Based on a poem and concept art by Tim Burton and directed by Henry Selick (“Coraline”), I first saw “Nightmare…” on a Halloween afternoon in 1993 with my best friend. Naturally, I went back to the theater soon afterward to see it again. In 1994, I bought the VHS tape and, when it became available, I bought the two-sided laserdisc. I would then own the film on DVD in two separate editions before finally settling on a deluxe Blu-Ray copy…for now. 

My wife and I have seen “Nightmare…” in multiple theatrical rereleases, and we watch it at home annually, via our digital projector onto our 7 ft. collapsible screen. My wife, who’s an art/animation teacher, used to show it to her students each year around Halloween, as well. In October of 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, my wife and I held a masked outdoor screening of the film for some friends, neighbors and their kids; who’d never seen it.  The movie brought a bit of joy to a joy-impaired time.  Whenever I see it (dozens of times by now), it still holds me spellbound. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of those ten or so movies I’d want a copy of if I were shipwrecked on a remote island with a portable DVD player that somehow ran on coconut juice. 

Meeting Ken Page. October, 2012

When I met Ken Page at the aforementioned autographing event in 2012, I had him sign three autographs; the first was for myself (naturally), while the second was for my friend’s daughter, who loved the film as much as I did, and the third was for my sister, who once dressed as Oogie Boogie for a “Nightmare Before Christmas”-themed Halloween party at our house over twenty years ago. Page was very obliging and patient.  He signed them in florescent green, too.

During that brief meeting twelve years ago, I remember semi-nervously blurting out something stupid, like “I wish I could borrow your voice,” to which Page said in that larger-than-life “Oogie”-intonation, “Well, I don’t know if my mama would like that.” I laughed, and he beamed a kind smile. He told me he’d developed his singing voice in his church choir, growing up in Missouri.  Meeting him, and actor Chris Sarandon (the voice of Jack Skellington) at that event was one of those moments I’ll cherish in my life as a semi-professional geek. 

To this day, the influence of that movie is just about everywhere in my life.  As I write this, my Mac desktop has a “Nightmare…” themed wallpaper, as does my iPhone.  Even my old car has a “Nightmare…” license plate frame. I’ve also heard Ken Page’s voice at Disneyland, during the Haunted Mansion’s annual “Nightmare Before Christmas” seasonal makeover.  To say the movie had an influence in my life is a huge understatement.  Even today, I was planning on buying some “Nightmare Before Christmas” pens from a friend of mine (the same friend who broke the news of Page’s passing to me last night).

Now the performer’s voice is silenced, but can never be forgotten.  Every time I see “the shadow on the moon at night,” I will think of that jovial, big-hearted man who signed multiple autographs for me, and who kept me, my wife and our friends entertained through the best and  worst of times.  He left us too soon.

Ken Page, January 20th, 1954—September 30th, 2024