Radio Legend Casey Kasem Dead at 82

15 Jun, 2014

Casey Kasem, the U.S. radio personality who counted down pop music hits on his popular weekly radio show and also lent his distinctive voice to hippie sleuth Shaggy in the “Scooby Doo” cartoons, died on Sunday. He was 82.

“Early this Father’s Day morning, our dad Casey Kasem passed away surrounded by family and friends,” his daughter, Kerri Kasem, said in a statement posted online. “Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken.”

Kasem, whose final years were marked by dementia, had been the focus of a dispute between his three children from his first marriage and his second wife, Jean Kasem, who they said had prevented them from visiting as he suffered from Lewy body dementia, a malady with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.

As his health deteriorated, a Los Angeles judge sided the with the adult children and permitted them to withhold food, hydration and his usual medication as they choose comfort-oriented, end-of-life care at a Washington state hospital.

“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars,” Kasem, a Detroit-born Lebanese-American, told millions of listeners at the end of his invariably cheery weekly radio program, which ran from 1970 to 2009.

On his syndicated show, Kasem counted down the 40 most popular songs of the week in order, finishing with the No. 1 song. Before each song, Kasem told an upbeat anecdote about the singer’s road to success and read letters from listeners.

At its peak, Kasem’s show was heard on more than 1,000 stations in about 50 countries. In 1970, along with childhood friend Don Bustany, Kasem came up with the idea of a radio show counting down the top pop hits of the week based on the earlier successful “Your Hit Parade” program. His show debuted on July 4, 1970, as “American Top 40,” quickly expanding from an initial seven stations.

Kasem had three children with his first wife, Linda Myers, before divorcing in 1979.

Reuters

Image Kevin Winter

Mentioned In This Post: