Legendary radio personality Casey Kasem dies at 82
By Todd Leopold, CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/15/showbiz/casey-kasem-obit/index.html
Legendary radio personality Casey Kasem has passed away. Share your tributes, memories and stories with CNN iReport.
(CNN) -- Casey Kasem, who entertained radio listeners for almost four decades as the host of countdown shows such as "American Top 40" and "Casey's Top 40," died early Sunday, according to a Facebook post from his daughter Kerri Kasem.
The news was confirmed by Casey's Kasem's agent, Don Pitts.
Casey Kasem was 82 and had been hospitalized in Washington state for two weeks.
"Early this Father's Day morning, our dad Casey Kasem passed away surrounded by family and friends," Kasem's children -- Kerri, Mike and Julie -- wrote in a statement released by Kasem's representative, Danny Deraney.
Click through to see people who passed away in 2014.
Radio personality Casey Kasem died Sunday, June 15. He was 82 and had been hospitalized in Washington state for two weeks.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll died Friday, June 13. He had suffered from Alzheimer's and heart disease. He was 82.
Ruby Dee, an award-winning actress whose seven-decade career included triumphs on stage and screen, died Thursday, June 12. She was 91.
Former baseball star Bob Welch passed away on Monday, June 9, after suffering a heart attack, according to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was 57.
British actor and comedian Rik Mayall, who appeared in the TV series "Blackadder," died Monday, June 9, at the age of 56, his agent said. The cause of death was not immediately reported.
Chester Nez, the last of the original Navajo code talkers credited with creating an unbreakable code used during World War II, died June 5 at his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Navajo Nation President said. Nez was 93.
Ann B. Davis, who played Alice the maid on "The Brady Bunch," died from a subdural hematoma on June 1. She was 88.
Maya Angelou, a renowned poet, novelist and actress, died at the age of 86, her literary agent said on May 28. Angelou was also a professor, singer and dancer whose work spanned several generations.
Australian racing legend Jack Brabham died on May 19, according to Brabham's son David. Brabham, 88, was a three-time Formula One world champion.
Malik Bendjelloul, the Oscar-winning director of "Searching for Sugar Man," died suddenly on May 13, police said. He was 36.
H.R. Giger, the Swiss surrealist artist whose works of sexual-industrial imagery and design of the eponymous creature in the "Alien" movies were known around the world, died on May 12. He was 74.
Former professional tennis player Elena Baltacha died at the age of 30 after losing her battle with liver cancer on May 4. Before retiring in November, she had reached a career high of 49th in the world rankings.
Al Feldstein, who guided Mad magazine for almost three decades as its editor, died on April 29, according to a Montana funeral home. He was 88.
Oscar-nominated British actor Bob Hoskins, known for roles in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Mona Lisa," died April 29 at age 71, his publicist said.
Hall of Fame basketball coach John "Dr. Jack" Ramsay, who became a television analyst years after winning a league championship with the Portland Trail Blazers, died on April 28, according to his longtime employer ESPN. Ramsay was 89.
Former Barcelona soccer coach Tito Vilanova, who had been battling cancer, died at the age of 45, the club announced April 25.
Country singer Kevin Sharp died from "complications due to cancer" on April 19, his mother told CNN. He was 43.
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the middleweight boxing contender who was wrongly convicted of a triple murder in New Jersey in the 1960s, died April 20 at the age of 76, according to Win Wahrer, the director of client services for the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the influential, Nobel Prize-winning author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera," passed away on April 17, his family and officials said. He was 87.
Jose Luis "Cheo" Feliciano, a giant of salsa music and a Puerto Rican legend, died in a car crash April 18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to police. He was 78.
Days after being inducted into World Wrestling Entertainment's Hall of Fame, WWE superstar Ultimate Warrior died April 8. Born James Hellwig, he legally changed his name to Warrior in 1993. He was 54.
Comedian John Pinette, 50, was found dead in a Pittsburgh hotel room on April 5. Pinette died of natural causes stemming from "a medical history he was being treated for," the medical examiner's spokesman said. An autopsy will not be done because his personal doctor signed the death certificate.
Mickey Rooney, who started as a child star in vaudeville and went on to star in hundreds of movies and TV shows, died April 6 at the age of 93.
DJ Frankie Knuckles, a legendary producer, remixer and house music pioneer, died March 31 at the age of 59.
Kate O'Mara, the British actress best known for playing Joan Collins' sister on the 1980s show "Dynasty," died March 30. She was 74.
Ralph C. Wilson Jr., the founder and longtime owner of the NFL's Buffalo Bills, died at age 95, the team announced March 25.
Gwar lead singer Dave Brockie died March 23 at the age of 50, his manager said. The heavy-metal group formed in 1984, billing itself as "Earth's only openly extraterrestrial rock band." Brockie performed in the persona of Oderus Urungus.
James Rebhorn, whose acting resume includes a long list of character roles in major films and TV shows, died March 21, his representative said. Rebhorn was 65.
L'Wren Scott, a noted fashion designer and girlfriend of musician Mick Jagger, was found dead of an apparent suicide March 17, according to a law enforcement official. She was 49.
Drummer Scott Asheton, who co-founded and played drums for the influential proto-punk band The Stooges, died March 15. He was 64.
Comedian David Brenner, a regular on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," died after a battle with cancer, a family spokesman said March 15. He was 78.
Actress Sheila MacRae, who portrayed Alice Kramden in a 1960s revival of "The Honeymooners" on "The Jackie Gleason Show," died on March 6, according to her family. She was 92.
Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia, seen here in 2006, died February 25 of an apparent heart attack. He was 66. De Lucia transformed the folk art of flamenco music into a more vibrant modern sound.
Actor, writer and director Harold Ramis, seen here on the far left with fellow "Ghostbusters" Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, died at his Chicago-area home on February 24. He was 69. Other popular Ramis films include "Stripes," "Groundhog Day" and "Analyze This."
Maria von Trapp, seen here posing with a photo of her family, was the last of the singing siblings immortalized in the movie "The Sound of Music." She died February 18 of natural causes at her Vermont home, according to her family. She was 99.
Journalist Garrick Utley died at age 74 following a long battle with cancer, his wife of 40 years said in February. Utley worked for CNN after his 30-year career at NBC News.
Devo guitarist Bob Casale, known by fans as "Bob 2," died February 17, his brother and band mate announced. Casale was 61.
John Henson, the son of Jim Henson who is perhaps most notable for his portrayal of Sweetums on "The Muppets," died after a "sudden, massive heart attack," his family's company said on February 15.
Veteran actor Ralph Waite died at 85 on February 13, according to an accountant for the Waite family and a church where the actor was a regular member. Waite was best known for his role as John Walton Sr. on 'The Waltons."
Sid Caesar, whose clever, anarchic comedy on such programs as "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour" helped define the 1950s "Golden Age of Television," died on February 12. He was 91.
Hollywood child star Shirley Temple, who became diplomat Shirley Temple Black, died February 10 at her Woodside, California, home. She was 85.
Joan Mondale, the wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale, died on February 3, according to a statement from the family's church.
Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment of an apparent drug overdose, law enforcement sources said February 2.
Maximilian Schell died on February 1 in a Austrian hospital with his wife by his side, his agent Patricia Baumbauer said. He was 83. Schell was nominated for an Oscar three times. He won in 1962 for "Judgment at Nuremberg."
Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, known for classics such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)," died of natural causes in New York on January 27, his grandson told CNN. He was 94.
Ruth Robinson Duccini, who played one of the Munchkins in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," died on January 16. She was 95.
Former Playboy centerfold Cassandra Lynn Hensley was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles, the coroner there said on January 17. Hensley was 34. Her cause of death was not immediately known.
Hiroo Onoda, center, salutes after handing over his military sword on Lubang Island in the Philippines in March 1974. Onoda, a former intelligence officer in the Japanese army, had remained on the island for nearly 30 years, refusing to believe his country had surrendered in World War II. He died at a Tokyo hospital on January 16. He was 91.
Russell Johnson, center, stands with Alan Hale Jr., left, and Bob Denver in an episode of "Gilligan's Island" in 1966. Johnson, who played "the professor" Roy Hinkley in the hit television show, passed away January 16 at his home in Washington state, according to his agent, Mike Eisenstadt. Johnson was 89.
Ariel Sharon, whose half century as a military and political leader in Israel was marked with victories and controversies, died on January 11 after eight years in a coma, Israeli Army Radio reported. Sharon was 85.
Franklin McCain, seen center wearing glasses, one of the "Greensboro Four," who made history for their 1960 sit-in at a Greensboro Woolworth's lunch counter, died on January 10 after a brief illness, according to his alma mater, North Carolina A&T State University.
Larry Speakes, who served as President Ronald Reagan's press secretary, died January 10 at his home in Cleveland, Mississippi, following a lengthy illness, according to Bolivar County Coroner Nate Brown. He was 74.
Poet Amiri Baraka, who lost his post as New Jersey's poet laureate because of a controversial poem about the 9/11 terror attacks, died on January 9, his agent said. Baraka was 79.
Sir Run Run Shaw, the media tycoon who helped bring Chinese martial arts films to an international audience, died at his home in Hong Kong on January 7 at age 106, the television station he founded said.
Stage, TV and film actress Carmen Zapata, who founded the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts as a means of of introducing "the rich and eloquent history of the diverse Hispanic culture to English-speaking audiences," died on January 5 at her Los Angeles home. She was 86.
Portugal football legend Eusebio, who was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, died from a heart attack on January 5 at age 71, said his former club, Benfica.
Alicia Rhett, who had been one of the oldest surviving cast members of the classic film "Gone With the Wind," died on January 3 in her longtime hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, a retirement community spokeswoman said. She was 98.
Singer Phil Everly, left -- one half of the groundbreaking, smooth-sounding, record-setting duo the Everly Brothers -- died on January 3, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was 74.
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"Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken ... The world will miss Casey Kasem, an incredible talent and humanitarian; we will miss our Dad."
Kasem's longtime friend, Gonzalo Venecia, and his younger brother, Mouner Kasem, were also with him when he died at St. Anthony's Hospital in Gig Harbor, Washington, at 3:25 a.m. Sunday, a family member said.
Casey Kasem had been suffering from Lewy body disease, the most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's.
He had recently been the subject of a bitter court battle involving three of his children by a previous marriage and his wife, Jean.
His oldest children, who challenged their stepmother for control of Kasem's medical decisions in his last months, are not fighting his wife for possession of his remains, a family member told CNN Sunday.
Daughter Julie Kasem will host a memorial celebration at her Northridge, California, home on Saturday, June 21, the family member said. No other funeral arrangements were yet known.
No autopsy is expected since Kasem died under a doctor's care in a hospital. The immediate cause of death was from sepsis caused by an ulcerated bedsore, the family member said.
In May, a California judge awarded Kerri Kasem temporary power of attorney after Jean Kasem took her husband out of a nursing home and moved him to Washington amid family feuding.
A Washington judge later allowed Kerri to visit her father in that state.
Casey Kasem was hospitalized after an argument between Jean and Kerri in which his wife threw meat at her stepdaughter.
Last week, a Los Angeles County judge gave daughter Kerri Kasem the authority to have doctors end his infusions of water, food and medicine.
Kasem was already a popular disc jockey in Los Angeles when he became the host of "American Top 40" in 1970. The syndicated show, which counted down the 40 most popular songs in the United States based on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 music chart, began on just seven radio stations but quickly became a mainstay of thousands, all around the world.
"When we first went on the air, I thought we would be around for at least 20 years. I knew the formula worked. I knew people tuned in to find out what the No. 1 record was," he told Variety in 1989.
Kasem's first No. 1, concluding the "AT40" premiere show of July 4, 1970, was Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)." His last on successor show "American Top 20," almost exactly 39 years later, was "Second Chance" by Shinedown.
But the show wasn't just about finding out who was No. 1.
Its features, included biographical details on performs, flashbacks, album cuts and Kasem's "long-distance dedication" for listeners who wrote to dedicate songs to friends and loved ones far away.
Kasem, whose baritone was always friendly and upbeat, delivered these in his most sympathetic voice, warm enough to melt butter. "Dear Casey," he began, and would read an emotional letter from a listener who wanted to connect with an old flame, express regret to a new love or send wishes to a far-flung family member.
The first one, for example, was from a male listener who wanted to dedicate Neil Diamond's "Desiree" to a sweetheart named Desiree who was moving to Germany.
The show, originally three hours, expanded to four in the late '70s.
In many ways, even as Top 40 radio moved from the AM to the FM dial and took on the name "Contemporary Hit Radio," "American Top 40" remained a throwback to the way the format was in the 1960s, with frequent number jingles ("Number 29!") and a fast-moving mix, though Kasem, in temperament, practically defined the laid-back hosts of the Me Decade. (The exception to the laid-back rule was a much-copied outtake, now readily available on the Internet, of Kasem exploding in anger over a long-distance dedication that succeeded an up-tempo record.)
The show inspired several imitators, including a television version, "America's Top 10," hosted by Kasem himself.
Kasem left "American Top 40" in 1988 over a contract dispute with ABC Radio Networks and signed with competitor Westwood One, for whom he started a show called "Casey's Top 40" in 1989. The new show used a different publication's chart, but it was the same old Casey: smooth, cheerful, full of information.
"The magic of Casey is that he is the ultimate professional in whatever he does. ... He enlightens, he explores, he suggests, he provokes and he informs," fellow DJ Gary Owens told Billboard in 1997.
Kasem acquired the name "American Top 40" and in 1998 resumed hosting the program with a new syndicator. (The ABC show, with Shadoe Stevens replacing Kasem, had been canceled in 1995.) He handed off to Ryan Seacrest in 2004, though he continued with two other shows, "American Top 20" and "American Top 10," until signing off in 2009 -- as always with his trademark line, "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars."
Kemal Amin Kasem was born in Detroit in 1932. He first tried radio while in high school but found he had a talent for it while serving in Korea with the Army. He was a DJ on the Armed Forces Radio Network.
After stops in several cities, including Flint, Michigan; Buffalo, New York; and San Francisco, he joined KRLA in Los Angeles in 1963, partly in hopes of an acting career. He did earn roles in a number of low-budget movies -- the most famous of which was probably "The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant" (1971) -- but his voice was always his ticket to fame, whether appearing on a Dick Clark-produced TV show, "Shebang," or voicing the character of Shaggy on the cartoon "Scooby-Doo," which premiered in 1969. (He also was the voice of Robin on "Super Friends.")
That voice became ubiquitous. He was NBC's promotional announcer in the late '70s and early '80s, and heard on dozens of commercials.
But "American Top 40" remains his legacy.
"Kasem started the show in 1970, a curious time to start a show about Top 40 mainstream pop, because the format had just been pronounced dead and progressive album-oriented radio was on the rise," wrote Susan Orlean in a 1990 New York Times Magazine profile. "He infused the show with corny reverence for conventional American values exactly when cynicism had become the more fashionable posture."
Kasem attributed his success to that everyday voice.
"It's not a clear-toned announcer's voice," he told the Times. "It's more like the voice of the guy next door.''
Kasem is survived by his second wife, Jean, whom he married in 1985; and four children.