| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | At age 31, Kasem moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1963, to pursue a career as a radio disc jockey and in broadcasting. |
| 2 | Had a minor hit single called "Letter From Elaina" in 1964. A spoken-word recording, it told the story of a girl who met George Harrison after a San Francisco concert. |
| 3 | Before he was a successful voice actor, and a radio personality, he began his tenure in 1948, as a sportscaster with the Northwestern High School radio club in Detroit, Michigan. That experience led him into becoming a disc jockey at WDTR, the Detroit Public School system's radio station. |
| 4 | Before he was a successful voice actor, and a radio personality, he was a voice actor for "The Lone Ranger" radio series, with schoolmate Chuck Olsen. |
| 5 | Met fellow disc jockey, Wink Martindale at KRLA Radio in Los Angeles, California. The two became friends for 47 years until Kasem's own death. |
| 6 | A month after his death, a judge had granted Kasem's daughter Kerri, a temporary restraining order to prevent his wife from cremating Kasem's body to allow an autopsy to be performed, but when she went to give a copy of the order to the funeral home, she was informed the body had been moved at the directive of Jean Kasem. [July 19, 2014]. |
| 7 | Lifelong friends with Don Bustany, Dick Clark and Wink Martindale. |
| 8 | Following his death, he was interred at Oslo Western Civil Cemetery in Oslo, Norway. |
| 9 | When Kasem was young, his parents refused to allow him to learn Arabic, insisting they assimilate. |
| 10 | Longtime friend Ed McMahon filled in for him once on American Top 40 in 2004. |
| 11 | His widow, Jean Kasem, was 23 years his junior. |
| 12 | Was an animal rights activist. |
| 13 | Began acting when he was age 18. |
| 14 | On the very first show of American Top 40, the first of five songs he counted down (in order) were: "Band of Gold", by Freda Payne, "Ride Captain Ride", by Blues Image, "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", by The Temptations, "The Love You Save", by the Jackson 5, and the No. 1 song was: "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)", by Three Dog Night. |
| 15 | His parents were divorced when he was a young boy. |
| 16 | Had done radio and played baseball at Northwestern High School. |
| 17 | Met another disc jockey, Dick Clark, on KTLA's after-school dance show, "Shebang". The friendship lasted 49 years, until Clark's death in 2012. |
| 18 | His widow, Jean Kasem, was known to adopt an eccentric fashion sense that earned her repeat mentions on various worst-dressed lists. |
| 19 | Was honored at the 2003 Radio Music Awards at the Aladdin Casino Resort, in Las Vegas, Nevada. [October 27, 2013]. |
| 20 | His father died in 1955, after a car crash on the way to see him act in a play. |
| 21 | Sold his Los Angeles estate for $42 million. He and his wife bought the Greek Revival mansion in 1989 for $1.72 million. [April 8, 2013]. |
| 22 | When Kasem was in Detroit, he watched a Jerry Lewis play at the Fox Theater. |
| 23 | He and Jean Kasem were married by Jesse Jackson. |
| 24 | Had co-hosted numerous Jerry Lewis annual Labor Day telethons every year. |
| 25 | Died on Father's Day. |
| 26 | His parents were both Lebanese grocers. |
| 27 | Survived by his wife, Jean Kasem, his four children and four grandchildren. |
| 28 | Was associated with Hanna-Barbera for over four decades, from 1968-2010. |
| 29 | Judge Daniel S. Murphy ruled that Kasem had to be hydrated, fed, and medicated as a court appointed lawyer reported on his health status. His wife Jean Kasem claimed that he had been given no food, water or medication the previous weekend. Kerri Kasem's lawyer stated that she had him removed from artificial food and water on the orders of a doctor, and in accordance with a document Kasem signed in 2007 requesting he not be held up artificially on life support. Murphy reversed his order the following Monday, after it became known that Kasem's body was no longer responding to the artificial nutrition, allowing the family to place Kasem on "end-of-life" measures over the objections of Jean Kasem. |
| 30 | Hosted Nick at Nite on New Year's Eve, for nearly a decade, every year, from 1989-1998. |
| 31 | When he was hosting American Top 40, Kasem would often include trivia facts about songs he played and artists whose work he showcased. Frequently, he would mention a trivia fact about an unnamed singer before a commercial break, then provide the name of the singer after returning from the break. |
| 32 | When Kasem hosted American Top 40, his show featured certain songs in addition to the countdown, such as a "long distance dedication" from one listener to another; or, the song of a "spotlight artist". On the July 4 weekend of each year, the show's anniversary, Kasem often featured a special countdown of particular songs from a certain era, genre or artist. |
| 33 | Before he was a successful actor and television host, he was also a radio disc jockey at two rock stations: KYA Radio, in San Francisco, California, and KEWB, in Oakland, California. |
| 34 | The single "U2" by media satirists Negativland features some profane outtakes of Kasem saved by an engineer; it was recalled by the label SST Records and was featured in lawsuits. It involved Kasem doing a "long distance dedication" about a deceased dog and attempting to say "the letter U and the numeral two". |
| 35 | In his six-decade career, he had an over 35-year career as a spokesperson in many commercials. |
| 36 | He voiced Mark, the American name of Ken Washio on Battle of the Planets (1978), the first American version of Gatchaman, as well as Bluestreak, Cliffjumper, Teletraan I and Dr. Arkeville on The Transformers (1984) animated series, but left during the third season due to what he perceived as offensive caricatures of Arabs and Arab countries in one episode. |
| 37 | He initially was hired as the narrator for the situation comedy Soap (1977), but quit the series after the pilot due to the controversial adult themes the show promoted, hence, the job was given to future game show announcer Rod Roddy. |
| 38 | Prior to suffering from Parkinson's disease, his three oldest children and his brother protested in front of Kasem's home, claiming that Jean Kasem had prevented contact with their father for three months. [October 1, 2013]. |
| 39 | Daughter Julie Kasem and her husband Dr. Jamil Aboulhosn filed a conservatorship petition to place Kasem under their care. However, the court denied their petition. [October 7, 2013]. |
| 40 | Had originally wanted to be a baseball player and an actor, but chose to be a disc jockey, instead. |
| 41 | Attended high school with former baseball player Willie Kirkland. |
| 42 | Attended and graduated from Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, in 1950. |
| 43 | Hosted American Top 40, every year, from 1970-1988, at the time Shadoe Stevens was hosting, and again, from 1998-2004. |
| 44 | Kasem had been a radio disc jockey for 55 years, from age 22 to 77, passing his hosting duties to Ryan Seacrest. |
| 45 | He was once also seen on Late Show with David Letterman (1993) performing a Top Ten list: "The Top Ten Favorite Numbers from 1 to 10". The countdown of numbers was paused at number 2 for Kasem to spoof one of his long distance dedications. |
| 46 | After his final cartoon role on Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010), he retired from voice acting at age 81. |
| 47 | Before he was a successful voice actor, and a radio personality, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1952, and sent to Korea, where he was a disc jockey and announcer on the Armed Forces Radio Korea Network. |
| 48 | Made two cameo appearances on Saved by the Bell (1989). In one episode, he played himself as the host of a school dance contest, and in the other, he narrated the story about the rise, fall, and rise again of the school group's band. |
| 49 | Best remembered as (an actor) Shaggy Rogers on Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969) and as the host of America's Top 10 (1980). |
| 50 | At the beginning of Kasem's 12th year (1991-92) of America's Top 10 (1980), he handed over most of the hosting duties to Siedah Garrett, later Tommy Puett, while he had limited screen time. Afterwards, Kasem returned for what would be his last year, until he closed down the show in 1992 to focus on launching "Casey's Countdown", an adult contemporary music spin-off of Casey's Top 40. |
| 51 | Made a cameo appearance in Ghostbusters (1984), reprising his role as the host of American Top 40. |
| 52 | Fellow disc jockey and longtime friend Dick Clark filled in for him once on American Top 40 in 1972. |
| 53 | Radio hosting ran in his family. |
| 54 | Wrote a brochure published by the Arab American Institute entitled "Arab-Americans: Making a Difference". |
| 55 | Just before his death, he was in critical, but stable condition at a hospital in Washington state, receiving antibiotics for bedsores and treatment for high blood pressure. It was revealed that he had been bedridden for some time. |
| 56 | Casey Kasem passed away on June 15, 2014, at age 82, four months earlier, fellow disc jockey and game show host Jim Lange passed away in the same year, but was four months younger than him. Kasem appeared on an episode of Lange's The Dating Game (1965), where he was the bachelor. |
| 57 | (May 12, 2014) Daughter Kerri Kasem was granted conservatorship over Jean Kasem's objection. The court also ordered an investigation into her father's whereabouts, after her stepmother's attorney told the court her father was "no longer in the United States". Kasem was found soon after in Washington state. |
| 58 | A political liberal, he narrated a campaign ad for George McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign, and hosted fundraisers for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988. |
| 59 | He was widely known to be a very private person. |
| 60 | Mentor and friends with Ryan Seacrest. |
| 61 | Game show host Bob Eubanks filled in for him once on America's Top 10 (1980). |
| 62 | (October 1, 2013) Announced that he was suffering from advanced Parkinson's disease. |
| 63 | Was friends with: Dick Clark, Ed McMahon, Charlie O'Donnell, Charlie Tuna, Dave Hull, Geoff Edwards, Wink Martindale, Marla Gibbs, Adam West, Jamie Farr, Jerry Lewis, Marlo Thomas, Kathy Najimy, Don Bustany, Bob Eubanks, Alex Trebek, Monty Hall, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Sally Jessy Raphael, David Letterman, Rosie O'Donnell, Frank Welker, Jonathan Winters and Bob Bergen. |
| 64 | As the voice of Robin on the "Super Friends" animated series, he was one of two voice actors who voice a character during the series' entire run (the other was Danny Dark as the voice of Superman). |
| 65 | He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6931 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 27, 1981 (his 49th birthday). |
| 66 | Also voiced the character Cliffjumper on The Transformers (1984) and The Transformers: The Movie (1986). Funnily enough, his first duty in the movie was to "commence countdown" (for the shuttle which was about to launch). |
| 67 | Had the weekly radio show "American Top 40" (where he counted down the top 40 hit songs in the United States) in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for the phrase "Details coming up", which he often said just before a commercial break. |
| 68 | Hosted the daily 3- to 5-minute radio show "America's Top Hits". It featured one song and a story about the song or artist of the day. |
| 69 | Until July 4-5, 2009, hosted "American Top 10", a three-hour radio show that counted down the Top 10 hits in America as based on Radio & Records' Adult Contemporary chart. The show also featured a different theme each week for the "extras", plus Casey's trademark Long Distance Dedications. |
| 70 | The last show of the "American Top 40 with Casey Kasem" was aired on January 4, 2004. |
| 71 | In early 2004, he retired from American Top 40 (AT40), but continued hosting American Top 20 (AT20) and American Top 10 (AT10) until July 4-5, 2009, when he retired from the countdown show business. |
| 72 | Inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1985 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1992. |
| 73 | Attended and graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. |
| 74 | Hit #103 on the Billboard Singles Charts in 1964 with "A Letter from Elaina" (Warner 5474). |
| 75 | Was a strict vegetarian and suggested that Shaggy Rogers (whom he voiced on "Scooby-Doo") be a vegetarian as well. |
| 76 | The youngest member ever to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame, has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from Billboard Magazine in 1997. |
| 77 | For decades, he provided the voice of Shaggy Rogers on the "Scooby-Doo" animated series. |
| 78 | Did voice-overs for four animated series during the 1969 season. |
| 79 | Had his own website devoted to Famous Arab-Americans. |
| 80 | Had Palestinian and Lebanese ancestry. |
| 81 | A veteran DJ and the original host of the "American Top 40" radio show. |
| 82 | Announcer for NBC Saturday Mornings in the 1980s. |
| 83 | Celebrity sponsor of the Great American Meatout on March 20, 2001. |
| 84 | Father of Kerri Kasem, Mike Kasem, Julie Kasem and Liberty Kasem. |
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