Casey Kasem Dead: Radio Icon Passes Away at Age 82
Iconic radio personality and TV host Casey Kasem died Sunday at the age of 82.
Kasem, whose illustrious career in entertainment spanned over four decades, died early on Father's Day, his daughter confirmed in a Facebook post:
"Early this Father's Day morning, our dad Casey Kasem passed away surrounded by family and friends. Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers. The world will miss Casey Kasem, an incredible talent and humanitarian; we will miss our Dad. With love, Kerri, Mike and Julie."
The famous radio DJ entertained listeners as the host of popular countdown shows such as "American Top 40" and "Casey's Top 40." He also was the voice of Shaggy in the "Scooby-Doo" cartoon series.
Kasem had been hospitalized in critical condition and was suffering from Lewy body disease, a common form of progressive dementia.
He had recently been the subject of a bitter legal battle over his health care and visitation rights involving his three children from his previous marriage and his second wife, Jean. His oldest children challenged their stepmother for control of Kasem's medical decisions in his last months, reported CNN on Sunday.
Casey was born Kemal Amin Kasem in Detroit to Lebanese parents and worked as an Armed Forces Radio Korea Network DJ and announcer while serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War in 1952. He later worked at several stations in the United States before he launched the show "American Top 40" in 1970. In 2004, he was replaced by Ryan Seacrest.
"It's a sad day for the broadcasting community and for radio listeners around the world," Seacrest said in a statement to E! News. "When I was a kid, I would listen to Casey Kasem's AT40 show every weekend, and dream about someday becoming a radio DJ. So when decades later I took over his AT40 countdown show, it was a surreal moment. 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."
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com