As announced on his daughter Kerri’s Facebook page today, seminal radio personality and Detroit native Casey Kasem died this morning at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor, Washington of complications from Lewy body disease, a form of dementia with symptoms that are very similar to Parkinson’s disease. He was 82.
The retired host of the popular weekly radio program American Top 40 and voice of Shaggy in Scooby-Doo was admitted to the hospital last week after his children and an ambulance crew retrieved him from a friend’s home, where he and his wife Jean had been staying.
Although Kasem’s recent health issues had been overshadowed by legal battles over visitation rights and power of attorney, the DJ was surrounded by family members this week as his condition took a turn for the worse. Danny Deraney, a spokesperson for Kasem’s daughter, confirmed the radio host died at 3:23 AM Sunday.
Casey was born Kemal Amen Kasem in Detroit on April 27, 1932 and was a graduate of Northwestern High School and Wayne State University. He began his professional broadcasting career in Flint, and after a brief hiatus where he served in the Korean War, built his name as a disc jockey over the next four decades before retiring in 2009.
Known his signature send-off, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars,” Kasem’s avuncular broadcasting style endeared him to families and music-lovers alike. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 1997, Billboard presented him with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kasem was also well-known for his voice acting on animated programs, including as Batman’s protege Robin the Boy Wonder on “Super Friends”. Reruns of the legend’s shows continue to air on a number of stations across the United States. Kasem is survived by his wife, four children, and a brother.