LOS ANGELES (AP) – Casey Kasem, the internationally famous radio host with the cheerful manner and gentle voice who became the king of the Top 40 countdown with a syndicated show that ran for decades, died yesterday. He was 82.
A statement issued by the Kasem family said Kasem died on Father’s Day, surrounded by family and friends at a Washington state hospital.
American Top 40, with Kasem’s soft, homey voice counting down the hits, was a refuge from shock jocks or the screaming big-city radio voices. It was dependable, broadcast on some 1 000 stations at its peak. When it began on July 4, 1970, in Los Angeles, the No. 1 song on his list then was Three Dog Night’s cover of Randy Newman’s Mama Told Me Not to Come.
In his signoff, Kasem would tell viewers: “And don’t forget: keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”
As the years went on, Kasem progressed through disco and punk, arena rock and rap. All were welcome under Casey’s big tent.
That made him the rare personality who could count the stars among his fans. Reaction to his death was widespread, from tweeted memories to a dedication from the stage by Elton John at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.
Media personality Ryan Seacrest, who took over the countdown from Kasem in 2004, said in a statement that Kasem’s death is a loss for radio listeners worldwide. Seacrest said that as a child he’d listen to Kasem’s show every weekend “and dream about someday becoming a radio DJ”.
“When decades later I took over his AT40 countdown show, it was a surreal moment,” Seacrest said. “Casey had a distinctive friendly on-air voice, and he was just as affable and nice if you had the privilege to be in his company. He’ll be greatly missed by all of us.”
The son of Lebanese Druze immigrants, Kasem was active in speaking out for greater understanding of Arab-Americans – both on political issues involving the Mideast and on arts and media issues.
In recent years, Kasem was trapped in a feud between his three adult children and his second wife, former actress Jean Kasem. In 2013, his children filed a legal petition to gain control of his health care, alleging that Kasem was suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease and that his wife was isolating him from friends and family members. Kasem also suffered from Lewy Body Disease, a form of dementia.
A judge in May temporarily stripped his wife of her caretaker role after she moved him from a medical facility in Los Angeles to a friend’s home in Washington state. Jean Kasem said she moved her husband to protect his privacy and to consult with doctors. Casey Kasem developed a severe bedsore while in Washington and was in critical condition by the time he was hospitalised in early June.
It was a sad, startling end for a man whose voice had entertained and informed music lovers worldwide.
Kasem’s legacy reached well beyond music. His voice was heard in TV cartoons such as Scooby-Doo (he was Shaggy) and in numerous commercials.
