Casey Kasem - # 82

Casey Kasem, ‘American Top 40’ Radio Countdown Host, Dies at 82

He was number 82 on the list.

Casey Kasem, the radio personality who spent about four decades counting down the most popular songs in the U.S. each week, has died. He was 82.

He died today in a hospital in Gig Harbor, Washington, the New York Times reported, citing a Facebook post by his daughter, Kerri Kasem.

Kasem, who lived in Los Angeles, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2007. He had been receiving home health care for a form of dementia called Lewy Body Disease, according to court papers filed by his daughter, who was appointed his temporary conservator in May 2014.

Casey Kasem was a co-creator of "American Top 40," a syndicated pop music program that featured the week's top singles, trivia tidbits and listener dedications. He began developing the format as a disc jockey in the 1960s.

"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars," he said at the end of each program. He hosted the show from its 1970 debut until 1988, and again from 1998 to 2004. The decade-long gap resulted from his departure in a salary dispute. During those years, he hosted a competing program.

Kasem left for the second time when Ryan Seacrest, the host of the "American Idol" television show, succeeded him. He hosted a couple of spinoff countdowns until 2009, when he retired from broadcasting.

On television, he provided the voice of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in "Scooby-Doo," an animated series. Shaggy was one of several crime-fighting teenagers and the sidekick of the title character, a Great Dane.

Kasem was a co-host of Jerry Lewis's annual Labor Day telethons, which benefited the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He also had been on the advisory boards of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, which criticized media bias and censorship, and the Washington-based American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem was born on April 27, 1932, in Detroit. Both his parents were of Lebanese descent, and his father was a grocer.

As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a baseball player. Instead, he covered sports as a member of the radio club at Northwestern High School in Detroit, where his interest in broadcasting began.

Acting was another of Kasem's pursuits. He performed in radio productions of "The Lone Ranger" and "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" at Detroit's Wayne State University, where he majored in speech education.

Kasem was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1952 and sent to Korea. He was an announcer and disc jockey on the Armed Forces Radio Network and also coordinated and acted in radio dramas.

After two years overseas, Kasem returned home and worked as a radio disc jockey in Detroit while finishing college. After graduating in 1957, he landed jobs playing music at radio stations in Cleveland, Buffalo, New York, and Oakland, California.

Kasem began laying the groundwork for "American Top 40" in 1962, while working in Oakland. He found a magazine called Who's Who in Pop Music in the station's trash can and used it to tell stories about singers and bands before playing their songs. The so-called teaser-bio format became a standard on his countdown shows.

The next year, he moved to KRLA-AM in Los Angeles, where he pursued acting as well as radio. He became the voice of Shaggy when the animated cartoon series "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You" began in 1969. Shaggy was later depicted as a vegetarian at the request of Kasem, who adopted the diet in the early 1970s.

"American Top 40" started as a collaboration between Kasem and Don Bustany, a Lebanese-American who was a childhood friend and worked in radio and television. The first syndicated show was broadcast on July 4, 1970.

"When we first went on the air, I thought we would be around for at least 20 years," Kasem told Variety magazine in a 1989 interview. "I knew the formula worked. I knew people tuned in to find out what the No. 1 record was."

A spinoff television show, "America's Top 10," began in 1980. The program, hosted by Kasem, was broadcast for about a decade in syndication.

Kasem left "American Top 40" in 1989 after failing to agree on a new contract with the show's owner, ABC Radio Networks, part of Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. at the time. Shadoe Stevens, a radio personality also known to viewers of the "Hollywood Squares" TV show, took his place as host. Later that year, Kasem started a competing program, "Casey's Top 40," which aired for the Westwood One radio network, a unit of Viacom Inc. (VIA), based in New York.

Outtakes from Casey's Top 40 appeared on the "U2" extended-play recording by Negativland, a group that combined music with sound collages, in 1991. Kasem was heard swearing to his staff during a dedication and criticizing U2, the rock band led by Bono and the Edge.

The incident didn't stop Kasem's show from prevailing over "American Top 40," which was canceled in 1995. Kasem bought the rights to his former program's name from ABC Radio, and left Westwood One when the network wouldn't let him use that name in place of "Casey's Top 40."

"American Top 40" was revived in 1998 by AMFM Radio Networks, now a unit of San Antonio-based CC Media Holdings Inc. (CCMO) , with Kasem as host. In January 2004, he turned over the hosting to Seacrest. He stayed at two other shows, "America's Top 20" and "America's Top 10," until his retirement.

Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame has a star with Kasem's name. He entered the National Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in 1985, and received a lifetime-achievement award from Billboard magazine in 1997.

Kasem was married twice. He was wed to the former Linda Myers, a singer and actress, from 1972 to 1979. The couple had a son, Michael, and two daughters, Kerri and Julie. Michael and Kerri became radio and television hosts.

In 1980, he married the former Jean Thompson, an actress. They had a daughter, Liberty Kasem, in 1990.

Kasem's second wife and the children from his first marriage sparred over his medical care during the final months of his life. The dispute began in October 2013, when Kerri and Julie led a protest outside Kasem's Los Angeles home and urged their stepmother to let them see him.



Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes

1967 First to Fight Minor Role (Live-action), Uncredited

1967 The Glory Stompers   Mouth (Live-action)

1969 2000 Years Later Disk Jockey (Live-action)

1969 Wild Wheels Knife (Live-action)

1969 The Cycle Savage Keeg's Brother (Live-action)

1969 Scream Free! Phil (Live-action)

1970 The Girls from Thunder Strip Conrad (Live-action)

1971 The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant Ken (Live-action)

1972 Doomsday Machine Mission Control Officer (Live-action)

1973 Soul Hustler Birnie (Live-action)

1976 The Gumball Rally Radio D.J. Voice, Uncredited

1977 New York, New York D.J. aka Midnight Bird (Live-action)

1978 Jukebox Brian Parker (Live-action)

1978 Disco Fever Brian Parker (Live-action)

1979 The Dark  Police Pathologist (Live-action)

1979 Scooby Goes Hollywood Shaggy Rogers Voice, TV movie

1980 The Return of the King Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck, a Hobbit Voice, TV movie

1984 Ghostbusters Himself Voice cameo

1986 The Transformers: The Movie    Cliffjumper Voice

1987 Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers Shaggy Rogers Voice, TV movie

1988 Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School Shaggy Rogers / Mirror Monster Voice, TV movie

1988 Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf Shaggy Rogers Voice, TV movie

1994 Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights Voice, TV movie

1996 Mr. Wrong Himself (Live-action)

1997 James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young Bill Romano (Live-action)

1999 Undercover Angel Himself (Live-action)

2000 Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Wedding DJ Voice

2001 The Comedy Team of Pete & James Himself Voice

2002 Scooby-Doo! and the Legend of the Vampire Shaggy Rogers Voice

2003 Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico Voice

2003 Looney Tunes: Back in Action Voice

2004 Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster Voice

2005 Aloha, Scooby-Doo! Voice

2005 Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? Voice

2006 Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! Voice

2007 Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! Voice

2008 Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King Voice

2009 Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword Voice; final time as Shaggy

2010 Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey Himself Voice





Television

Year Title Role Notes

1964 The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo Voice

1968 Garrison's Gorillas Provost Marshall (Live-action), 2 episodes

1968–1969 The Batman/Superman Hour Robin, Dick Grayson Voice, 17 episodes

1969–1970 Hot Wheels Tank Mallory / Dexter Carter Voice, 5 episodes

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 Voice, 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 Voice, 17 episodes

1971 Here Comes Peter Cottontail Peter Cottontail (Live-action), 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 Voice, 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 Voice, 109 episodes

1974 The City That Forgot About Christmas Voice, Christmas TV special

1974 The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast Adolf Hitler (live-action), Episode: The Roast of Don Rickles

1974 Hong Kong Phooey Car Stealer, Clown Voice, 2 episodes

1974 Hawaii Five-O Swift, Freddie Dryden Voice, 5 episodes

1975 Emergency +4 Voice, 12 episodes

1975 Ironside Lab Technician, Jim Crutcher (Live-action), 2 episodes

1975 The Night That Panicked America Mercury Theatre Player (Live-action), TV movie

1975 The Last of the Mohicans Uncas Voice, TV movie

1976–1977 Dynomutt, Dog Wonder Fishface / Swamp Rat / Shaggy Rogers Voice, 5 episodes

1976–1978 The Scooby-Doo Show Shaggy Rogers Voice, 40 episodes

1976 Freedom Is Voice, TV movie

1977 Police Story Sobhe (Live-action), Episode: "Trial Board"

1977 Quincy, M.E. Sy Wallace Voice, Episode: "An Unfriendly Radiance"

1977 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries   Paul Hamilton Voice, Episode: "The Mystery of the Hollywood Phantom" (Parts 1 & 2)

1977 Switch Tony Brock (Live-action), Episode: "Fade Out"

1977–1978 What's New, Mr. Magoo? Waldo 10 episodes

1977–1979 Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics   Shaggy Rogers / Mr. Creeply Voice, 24 episodes

1977 Soap Narrator Unaired pilot (Kasem left the show before it aired. Narration for the pilot was rerecorded by Rod Roddy before airing.)

1978 Charlie's Angels Tom Rogers (Live-action), Episode: "Winning Is for Losers"

1978 Yogi's Space Race Voice, 7 episodes

1978 Jana of the Jungle Voice, 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

The Funky Phantom - as Professor Lundgren (In "Spirit Spooked"), Winfield Wheely (in "April's Foolish Day")

1979–1980 Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Shaggy Rogers Voice, 16 episodes

1980–1982 The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show Shaggy Rogers Voice, 21 episodes

1982 The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour Shaggy Rogers Voice, 13 episodes

1982 The Gary Coleman Show Voice, 2 episodes

1983 The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show Shaggy Rogers / Mr. Rogers / Mrs. Rogers Voice, 13 episodes

1983 Matt Houston Master of Ceremonies Episode: "Target: Miss World"

1984 The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries Shaggy Rogers, Grandpa Rogers Voice, 13 episodes

1984–1986 The Transformers Cliffjumper / Bluestreak / Teletraan I / Dr. Arkeville Voice, 60 episodes

1985 The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo Shaggy Rogers Voice, 13 episodes

1988–1991 A Pup Named Scooby-Doo Shaggy Rogers / Mr. Rogers Voice, 27 episodes

1989-1991 Saved by the Bell Himself Episodes: "Dancing to the Max", "Rockumentary"

1989 Family Feud Himself (cameo appearance), "Funny Men vs. Funny Women" Week episode

1989 Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration Shaggy Rogers Voice, TV Special

1990 The Fantastic World of Hanna-Barbera Shaggy Rogers Voice, TV Special

1991 Scooby-Doo! Behind the Voices Himself (Live-action) / Shaggy Rogers Voice, TV Special

1991 Beverly Hills, 90210 Mr. Franklin's Friend Episode: "Spring Training"

1992 Tiny Toons Adventures Flakey Flakems Voice, Episode: "Here's Hamton"

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"

1995 Homeboys in Outer Space Spacy Kasem Voice, Episodes: "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 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Shaggy Rogers Voice, Episode: "Sabrina Unplugged"

2002–2006 What's New, Scooby-Doo? Shaggy Rogers / Virtual Shaggy Voice, 42 episodes

2003 Blue's Clues Radio Voice, Episode: "Blue's Big Car Trip"

2003 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 (after retirement); Final appearance.

 
Video games

Year Title Role

1995 Scooby-Doo Mystery Shaggy Rogers

2009 Scooby-Doo's Yum Yum Go! Shaggy Rogers