Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amen "Casey" Kasemwas an American disc jockey, music historian, radio personality, voice actor, and actor, known for being the host of several music radio countdown programs, most notably American Top 40, from 1970 until his retirement in 2009, and for providing the voice of "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise from 1969 to 1997, and again from 2002 until 2009...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Show Host
Date of Birth27 April 1932
CityDetroit, MI
CountryUnited States of America
For years everyone looked toward the demise of radio when television came along. Before that, they thought talking movies might eliminate radio as well. But radio just keeps getting stronger.
Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or a woman and a microphone, playing music, sharing stories, talking about issues -- communicating with an audience.
That something extra, I believe, is a certain humanity that comes from upbeat and positive human interest letters and success stories. Advertisers like to be associated with those qualities.
We tell stories. We talk about statistics. And in 1978, we added an element of the show that gave it its heartbeat: the long distance dedication.
I probably would be continuing to do voice-overs, continuing to do cartoon shows, and at the same time I'd probably be on a sitcom or a dramatic television show.
I like the storytelling and reading the letters, the long-distance dedications.
The stories are success stories. The letters from listeners often touch the heart and can be inspiring.
Vegetarianism is the cure for 99% of the world's problems. Think about it...
Growing up, I actually wanted to be a professional Baseball player, instead of a radio DJ. Believe it or not.
Some of the things that I do, I think are very important and much more important than the radio show or the television show that I do or anything else that I do. I think right at the top of the list is the basic thing. And of course the basic thing is to hopefully stop people from killing anything. And to create a non-violent diet for themselves, because a non-violent world has roots in a non-violent diet.
If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, you've got a hit.
As you know, in the past several years, month after month, radio has increased its revenues - some of it even coming from Dot-Com advertisers. So, radio is a survivor.
Because of my background in theater and radio acting, I knew that I could make a living as an actor.
Songs used to be short, then they became longer, and now theyre getting shorter. But otherwise, music is about a beat and a message. If the beat gets to the audience, and the message touches them, youve got a hit.