NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Page, a stage and screen actor who starred in film Beyoncé in ‘Dreamgirls’ introduced Broadway audiences to ancient Deuteronomy “Cats” and scaring generations of children now that the voice of Oogie Boogie, the villain from the 1993 animated film “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” has passed away. He was 70.

Talent agent Todd M. Eskin of ATB Talent Agency announced the death to The Associated Press on Tuesday, 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 then played Nicely-Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls” with Robert Guillaume. He also appeared in the original cast of the Fats Waller musical Ain’t Misbehavin, which won a Drama Desk Award, and was on board when the musical returned to Broadway in 1988.

Page landed the role of the wise Old Deuteronomy when “Cats” landed on Broadway in 1982 and went on to make a record-breaking effort, singing “Old Deuteronomy,” “The Moments of Happiness” and “The Ad-Dressing of Cats.”

Elaine Paige, who played Grizabella in ‘Cats’ and reprized the role in the 1998 film version ‘Cats’, paid tribute to her co-star in admits: ‘He was a sweet, kind, talented man.”

In 2010, Page revisited Old Deuteronomy at the Muny – St. Louis’ municipal theater association – and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch critic said, “Page, a menacing gentle presence, fills the role of feline spirit guide to the extreme,” and added, “Maybe no one will bow down to a cat while shouting ‘OH CAT,’ but Page can at least make you think about it.”

Page would perhaps make his biggest impact as the voice of Oogie Boogie, the burlap sack with hundreds of insects crawling inside him, in Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” It was his character’s hope to become the Seven Holidays King by kidnapping the Holiday. Leaders for the other holidays. ““It’s hopeless/You’re done/You don’t have a prayer/Cause I’m Mr. Oogie Boogie/And you’re not going anywhere,” he sang to Santa.

He would reprise the role of Oogie Boogie, including in video games and at the film’s 30th anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023. He also voiced King Gator in Disney’s 1989 animated film “All Dogs Go to Heaven.”

His other film 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’.