Casey Kasem, the U.S. radio personality with the distinctive voice who counted down the top pop music hits on his popular weekly show and also provided the voice of hippie sleuth Shaggy on 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."
He passed away in Gig Harbor, Wash.
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Kemal Amin (Casey) Kasem was born in Detroit in 1932 to Lebanese parents. He first dipped into radio during his school days, as a sportscaster for his high school radio station and by landing acting roles in radio dramas while studying at Wayne State University.
Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1952,he worked on the Armed Forces Radio Korea Networkas an announcer and both co-ordinating and acting in radio dramas. He began building his professional radio career in the mid-1950s in Flint, Mich.,He honed his knowledge of rock trivia and his storytelling style during stints at radio stations in California during the early 1960s.
Though known for his trademark easy-going, comforting and knowledgeable hosting style, Kasem was also a perfectionist, which led to some famed off-air displays of temper - examples of which still make the rounds on YouTube. Regardless, he was beloved by countless radio listeners.
Kerri Kasem and her brother and sister, the American Top 40 host's children from his first marriage, chose to transition Kasem back to comfort-oriented, end-of-life care at a Washington state hospital where he has been in hospice care.
Kasem launched American Top 40 on July 4, 1970. He retired from radio exactly 39 years later, on July 4, 2009. Though his syndicated countdown show was influential and broadcast by radio stations around the globe, in an interview about his retirement,
Kasem said he expected to be remembered for another part of his resumé.
"They are going to be playing Shaggy and Scooby-Doo for eons and eons, and they're going to forget Casey Kasem- unlessthey happen to step on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame," he told the New York Times. "I'll be one of those guys people say 'Who's that?' about. And someone else will say, 'He's just some guy who used to be on the radio.'"
Inducted into U.S. National Association of Broadcasters' Radio Hall of Fame in 1992, Kasem also became the firstrecipient of Billboard magazine's lifetime achievement award in 1997. In 2013, a feud between members of Kasem's family, friends and his second wife, Jean, erupted publicly outside of the couple's home in Los Angeles.
Battle with Jean Kasem
Three of his children, his brother and several of Kasem's close friends attempted to gain entrance to visit the ailing former radio host. They staged a protest outside the home and accused Jean, Kasem's wife of 30 years and a former television actress, of cutting them off from seeing or speaking to him.
The situation worsened in May 2014, when Kasem's children reported him missing. Days later, Kasem was located near Seattle, where he and Jean were staying with friends
Shortly after, a Washington state judge ruled Kasem must remain in the state, and that daughter Kerri should have regular visits with him. Jean criticized the decision, telling KING-TV she was "not going to allow anybody to shred (her) family based on unfounded facts and malicious accusations."
Kerri Kasem had told the judge her father was suffering from serious bedsores along with lung and bladder infections. On June 6, Kasem was admitted to hospital in Port Orchard, Wash., with a serious pressure ulcer and was listed in critical condition. Another Washington State judge gave Kerri Kasem control over his care, but in a statement released the same day she warned he "won't be with us much longer."
Kasem is survived by his wife Jean, their daughter Liberty, and three children, Kerri, Mike and Julie, from a previous marriage to Linda Myers.