Casey Kasem

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem ( ; April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey , actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40, as well as the weekly syndicated television series America's Top 10. He was the first actor to voice Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise (1969 to 1997 and 2002 to 2009) and Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985).

Kasem began hosting the original American Top 40 on the weekend of July 4, 1970, and remained there until 1988. He hosted Casey's Top 40 from January 1989 to February 1998, then revived American Top 40 in 1998. He hosted two countdowns for the adult contemporary format from 1992 to 2009. He also founded the American Video Awards in 1983 and continued to co-produce and host it until its final show in 1987.

Kasem provided many commercial voiceovers, performed many voices for children's television (such as Sesame Street and the Transformers cartoon series), was "the voice of NBC", and helped with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

Early life Kemal Amin Kasem was born on April 27, 1932, in Detroit, Michigan, to Lebanese Druze parents Helen Dow (also Helen Sefa) and Amin Kasem, who were grocers. His father, whose original surname is sometimes given as Konsow while his mother was born to a Lebanese family in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. He was named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, whom his father respected. Kasem's parents did not allow their children to speak Arabic and insisted that they assimilate into American life. He received his first experience in radio covering sports at Northwestern High School in Detroit. In 1952, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Korea where he worked as a disc jockey and announcer on the American Forces Korea Network (AFKN).

Career

Early career After the war, Kasem began his professional broadcasting career in Flint, Michigan, then worked at Detroit's WJLB and WJBK—and portrayed children's television host "Krogo the Clown" —but left broadcasting to help tend to the family grocery store in Fenton, Michigan. Kasem unsuccessfully attempted work as a stage actor in New York City for six months, auditioning for a role in the off-Broadway production Ivan Of, but lost out to Ed Asner. Returning to Detroit, Kasem re-applied at WJBK but was promptly referred to co-owned WJW, which not only had a late-evening slot open but a hosting role for Cleveland Bandstand over WJW-TV as well. Cleveland's emerging status as a popular music epicenter appealed to Kasem, having been aware of WERE's Bill Randle dating back to when Randle worked in Detroit. Kasem identified himself as "Casey at the Mike" owing to varied misspellings of his name in both contemporary news accounts and station promos.

Kasem's tenure in Cleveland was a brief but successful one, entering the market "with a vengeance" against Top 40 stations WHK and KYW. Within three months, Kasem reached second place behind WHK in ratings surveys on weeknights and number one on Saturday nights. Kasem's predecessor in the time slot, Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers, partially inspired Kasem's presentation on-air, but Kasem felt compelled to develop a unique on-air persona to distinguish himself. The first three hours of his evening show remained devoted to R&B recordings in a "high-energy rock" style, while the fourth hour was more laidback with his news reader as a co-host. The R&B selections and "wild-tracking" by Kasem also distinguished himself from WJW's daytime pop-oriented fare, which typically featured Perry Como and The McGuire Sisters as core artists.

Nightly features included Kasem labeling songs as "...of the night", with random phrases or names as a descriptor. After the payola scandal broke out and enveloped Alan Freed's career, Kasem began a regular comedy bit called the "Payola Tune of the Night," which WJW management encouraged under the assumption it would dissuade listeners from thinking he was under investigation as well. Ultimately, Kasem's career was not negatively impacted by the payola scandal. One notable stunt involved Kasem and Diana Trask engaging in an 85-second-long kiss for a "world record" distinction on September 14, 1959, with a news reader describing the kiss on-air. While hosting Cleveland Bandstand, Kasem started to take pep pills to lose weight; one day, he forgot them when he went to the station, and the pang of conscience he experienced upon returning for them to his apartment prompted him to give up the habit.

After WJW switched formats to beautiful music, which Kasem attributed directly to the payola scandal, he left WJW for Buffalo's WBNY but remained in contact with friends in the Cleveland area. At KYA in San Francisco, the general manager suggested he tone down his delivery and talk about the records instead. At KEWB in Oakland, California, Kasem was both the music director and an on-air personality. He created a show that mixed biographical tidbits about the artists he played, and attracted the attention of Bill Gavin, who tried to recruit him as a partner. After Kasem joined KRLA in Los Angeles in 1963, his career began to blossom and he championed the R&B music of East L.A.

Kasem acted in a number of low-budget movies and radio dramas. At the end of the 1960s, he began working as a voice actor. In 1969, he started one of his most famous roles, the voice of Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. At the time, top 40 radio was on the decline as DJs preferred to play album-oriented progressive rock.

The show debuted on seven stations but soon went nationwide.

In 1971, Kasem provided the character voice of Peter Cottontail in the Rankin/Bass production of Here Comes Peter Cottontail. He also voiced Alexander Cabot III on Josie and the Pussycats and Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, and supplied a number of voices for Sesame Street. There were only five award shows. The final show aired in 1987.

1988–1998: Casey's Top 40 In 1988, Kasem left American Top 40 because of a contract dispute with ABC Radio Network. He signed a five-year, $15 million contract with Westwood One and started Casey's Top 40, which used a different chart, the Radio & Records Contemporary (CHR)/Pop radio airplay chart (also employed contemporaneously by Rick Dees Weekly Top 40).

From 1989 to 1998, Kasem hosted Nick at Nite's New Year's Eve countdown of the top reruns of the year. He also made cameo appearances on Saved by the Bell and ALF in the 1990s. In 1997, after voicing Shaggy Rogers on an episode of Johnny Bravo, Kasem quit his role in a dispute over a Burger King commercial, with Billy West and Scott Innes taking over the character in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

At the end of 2003, Kasem announced he would leave AT40 once his contract expired and would be replaced by Ryan Seacrest. In 2008, Kasem did the voice-over for WGN America's Out of Sight Retro Night. Kasem, by this point at age 77, decided against finding another syndicator or replacement host, citing a desire to explore other avenues such as writing a memoir. He sent a press release announcing he would retire from radio on the July 4 weekend, the 39th anniversary of the first countdown show.

Kasem also performed TV commercial voice-overs throughout his career, appearing in more than 100 commercials. He did voice Shaggy again for "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley", but went uncredited by his request. Although officially retired from acting, Kasem provided the voice of Colton Rogers, Shaggy's father, on a recurring basis for the 2010–2013 series Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, once again uncredited at his request. He initially quit voicing Shaggy in the mid to late 1990s when asked to voice Shaggy in a Burger King commercial, but returned in 2002 after negotiating to have Shaggy become a vegetarian once again. an interest triggered by the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He wrote a brochure, "Arab-Americans: Making a Difference", published by the Arab American Institute. He called for a more fair depiction of heroes and villains on behalf of all cultures in Disney's 1994 sequel to Aladdin called The Return of Jafar. Kasem campaigned against the Gulf War, advocating non-military means of pressuring Saddam Hussein into withdrawing from Kuwait, and arranged conflict-resolution workshops for Arab Americans and Jewish Americans.

A political liberal, Kasem narrated a campaign ad for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, hosted fundraisers for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988, Kasem supported a number of other progressive causes, including affordable housing and the rights of the homeless.

Kasem was married to Linda Myers from 1972 to 1979. They had three children: Mike, Julie and Kerri Kasem.

Kasem was married to actress Jean Thompson from 1980 until his death in 2014. They had one child, Liberty Jean Kasem. In 2013, Kasem and his wife put the home on the market for US$43 million.

Illness and death In October 2013, Kerri Kasem announced her father had Parkinson's disease, diagnosed in 2007. However, a few months later, she said he had Lewy body dementia, which is hard to differentiate from Parkinson's. His condition left him unable to speak during his final months. The older Kasem children sought conservatorship over their father's care. The court denied their petition in November.

Jean removed Kasem from his Santa Monica, California, nursing home on May 7, 2014. On May 12, 2014, Kerri Kasem was granted temporary conservatorship over her father, despite her stepmother's objection. The court ordered an investigation into Casey Kasem's whereabouts after his wife's attorney told the court that Casey was "no longer in the United States". He was found soon afterward in Washington state.

On June 6, 2014, Kasem was reported to be in critical but stable condition in hospital in Washington state, receiving antibiotics for bedsores and treatment for high blood pressure. It was revealed he had been bedridden for some time. A judge ordered separate visitation times for Kasem's wife and his children from his first marriage. Judge Daniel S. Murphy ruled that Kasem had to be hydrated, fed, and medicated, as a court-appointed lawyer reported on his health status. Jean Kasem claimed he had been given no food, water, or medication the previous weekend. Kerri Kasem's lawyer stated that she had him removed from artificial food and water on the orders of a doctor, and in accordance with a directive her father signed in 2007 saying he would not want to be kept alive if it "would result in a mere biological existence, devoid of cognitive function, with no reasonable hope for normal functioning."

On June 15, 2014, Kasem died at St. Anthony's Hospital in Gig Harbor, Washington, at the age of 82. The immediate cause of death was reported as sepsis caused by an ulcerated bedsore. His body was handed over to his widow. Reportedly, Kasem wanted to be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

By July 19, 2014, a judge had granted Kerri Kasem a temporary restraining order to prevent Jean Kasem from cremating the body in order to allow an autopsy to be performed. However, when Kerri Kasem went to give a copy of the order to the funeral home, she was informed that the body had been moved at the direction of Jean Kasem. Kasem's wife had the body moved to a funeral home in Montreal on July 14, 2014.

Jean Kasem had him interred at Oslo Western Civil Cemetery on December 16, 2014, more than six months after his death.

In November 2015, three of Kasem's children and his brother sued his widow for wrongful death. The lawsuit charged Jean Kasem with elder abuse and inflicting emotional distress on the children by restricting access before his death. A 2018 police investigation initiated by a private investigator working for Jean found that he had received appropriate medical care while in Washington, and that there was no evidence pointing to homicide. The suits were settled in 2019. He was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame radio division in 1985, and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1992. Five years later, he received the Radio Hall of Fame's first Lifetime Achievement Award. 1971 The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant Ken Scooby Goes Hollywood Shaggy Rogers (voice)

1980 The Return of the King Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck, a Hobbit (voice) 1969–1971 Cattanooga Cats Groove, the drummer (voice) 17 episodes 1969–1970 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Shaggy Rogers (voice) 25 episodes 1970 Skyhawks Steve Wilson, Joe Conway (voices) Episode: "Devlin's Dilemma" 1970–1971 Josie and the Pussycats Alexander Cabot III (voice) 16 episodes 1970–1992 Sesame Street Blue Man in 'Q for Quarter' Cartoon / Fly (voices) 17 episodes 1971 Here Comes Peter Cottontail Peter Cottontail (voice) Stop-motion Easter special for Rankin-Bass 1972 Wait Till Your Father Gets Home George (voice) Episode: "The Neighbors" 1972–1973 The New Scooby-Doo Movies Shaggy Rogers, Robin, Alexander Cabot III, Ghost of Injun Joe (voices) 24 episodes 1972 Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space Alexander Cabot III (voice) 16 episodes 1973 The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas Narrator (voice) Animated Christmas TV special 1973–1985 Super Friends Robin / Dick Grayson (voices) 109 episodes

The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast Adolf Hitler Episode: "The Roast of Don Rickles" Hong Kong Phooey Car Stealer, Clown (voices) 2 episodes Hawaii Five-O Swift, Freddie Dryden 5 episodes Emergency +4 Additional voices 12 episodes Ironside Lab Technician, Jim Crutcher 2 episodes The City That Forgot About Christmas Additional voices Christmas TV special

The Night That Panicked America Mercury Theatre Player

The Last of the Mohicans Uncas (voice) 1976–1977 Dynomutt, Dog Wonder Fishface / Swamp Rat / Shaggy Rogers (voices) 5 episodes 1976–1978 The Scooby-Doo Show Shaggy Rogers (voice) 40 episodes 1976 Freedom Is Additional voices TV movie

Police Story Sobhe Episode: "Trial Board" Quincy, M.E. Sy Wallace Episode: "An Unfriendly Radiance" The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Paul Hamilton Episode: "The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom" (Parts 1 & 2) Switch Tony Brock Episode: "Fade Out" 1977–1978 What's New, Mr. Magoo? Waldo (voice) 10 episodes 1977–1979 Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Shaggy Rogers / Mr. Creeply (voices) 24 episodes

Soap Narrator (voice) Unaired pilot (Kasem left the show before it aired. Narration for the pilot was rerecorded by Rod Roddy before airing.) Wonderbug Roscoe Episode: "The Big Game"

Charlie's Angels Tom Rogers Episode: "Winning Is for Losers" Yogi's Space Race

7 episodes Jana of the Jungle 13 episodes 1978–1985 Battle of the Planets Mark (voice) 85 episodes; American dubbed adaptation of anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (in which the character was originally called "Ken the Eagle") 1979 The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone Monty Marble (voice) Animated Halloween TV special 1979–1980 Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo

16 episodes

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1980 TV series) 33 episodes The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show 21 episodes

The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour 13 episodes The Gary Coleman Show Additional voices 2 episodes

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show Shaggy Rogers / Mr. Rogers / Mrs. Rogers (voices) 13 episodes Matt Houston Master of Ceremonies Episode: "Target: Miss World" 1984 The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries Shaggy Rogers, Grandpa Rogers (voices) 13 episodes 1984–1985 Scary Scooby Funnies Shaggy Rogers (voice) 20 episodes 1984–1986 The Transformers Cliffjumper / Bluestreak / Teletraan I / Dr. Arkeville (voices) 60 episodes 1985 The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo

13 episodes 1985–1986 Scooby's Mystery Funhouse 21 episodes 1988–1991 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Shaggy Rogers / Mr. Rogers (voices) 27 episodes 1989–1991 Saved by the Bell

Episodes: "Dancing to the Max", "Rockumentary"

Family Feud (cameo appearance), "Funny Men vs. Funny Women" Week episode Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration Shaggy Rogers (voice) TV special

Tiny Toon Adventures Flakey Flakems (voice) Episode: "Here's Hamton" Beverly Hills, 90210 Mr. Franklin's Friend Uncredited, Episode: "Spring Training" 1992–1993 The Ben Stiller Show Himself 2 episodes 1993 2 Stupid Dogs Bill Barker (voice) Episode: "Let's Make a Right Price/One Ton/Far-Out Friday" 1994 Captain Planet and the Planeteers Lexo Starbuck (voice) Episode: "You Bet Your Planet"

Sister, Sister Himself Episode: "The Audition" Homeboys in Outer Space Spacy Kasem Episode: "Loquatia Unplugged, or Come Back, Little Cyber" 1997 Johnny Bravo Shaggy Rogers (voice) Episode: "The Sensitive Male!/Bravo Dooby Doo" 2000 Histeria! Calgary Kasem (voice) Episode: "North America" 2002–2006 What's New, Scooby-Doo?

42 episodes 2002 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Episode: "Sabrina Unplugged"

Blue's Clues Radio (voice) Episode: "Blue's Big Car Trip" Teamo Supremo DJ Despicable (voice) Episode: "Doin' the Supremo!" 2006–2008 Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! Uncle Albert Shaggleford (voice) 22 episodes 2010−2013 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Colton Rogers (voice) 5 episodes; Final appearance.

Video games Year Title Role 1995 Scooby-Doo Mystery Shaggy Rogers 2009 Scooby-Doo's Yum Yum Go!

Theme parks Year Title Role Notes 1990 The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera Shaggy Rogers Voice