News
Voice Actor & Radio Personality Casey Kasem Passes Away
posted on by Egan Loo
Kerri Kasem announced that her father, renowned radio personality and voice actor Casey Kasem, passed away early Sunday morning. He was 82. Kasem had been hospitalized in Washington state for two weeks as he battled complications from Lewy body disease, a form of progressive dementia.
Kemal Amen Kasem was born to Lebanese immigrants in Detroit on April 27, 1932. He began working in radio after graduating from Wayne State University. He first gained fame 44 years ago as the host of America's Top 10 and other radio countdowns of weekly hit pop songs.
Kasem often lent his distinctive voice to animation, as he played the lead character Mark in the Battle of the Planets dub of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. He also voiced Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Teletraan 1, and Dr. Archeville in the first Transformers television series in the United States.
He is perhaps best known for playing Shaggy in the American animated franchise Scooby-Doo, and he also played Robin in the American animated series Super Friends and The Adventures of Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. His other roles included characters on Sesame Street and Merry in The Return of the King.
Thanks to ljaesch for the news tip
Sources: CNN, The New York Times, Image via Ryan Seacrest
