Post by bossradio93 on Apr 27, 2004 12:57:38 GMT -5
On this day in 1932, Casey Kasem was born in Detroit to Lebanese immigrant parents. Born Kemal Amin Kasem, he originally wanted to be a baseball player or an actor but was inspired to go into radio after hearing Eddie Chase's countdown show on CKLW. After graduating high school, Kasem worked as an intern at WDTR. While attending Wayne State University, he starred in a drama show, Scoop Ryan, Cub Reporter, on the campus radio station, WDET. He then became an usher at WXYZ in Detroit and soon landed roles in network programs such as The Lone Ranger and Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon. While serving in the Army in Korea in 1952-54, Kasem appeared in dramas for Armed Forces Radio Network. He then jocked part-time at WJLB before landing a full-time job at WJBK. He later jocked in Cleveland, Buffalo, and San Francisco.
In 1962, while at KEWB in Oakland, he retrieved a discarded copy of Who's Who In Pop Music from a wastebasket and started teasing the audience with brief bios of singers whose records he was about to play. These teasers became an industry standard. Kasem jocked at KRLA in Pasadena from 1963 to 1969. He made the Los Angeles record charts in 1964 with Letter From Elaina, reading a fan letter to the Beatles over the background music of George Martin's And I Love Her. Kasem became the voice of Scooby-Doo's sidekick, Shaggy, and of Robin in the animated Batman & Robin television series. On July 4, 1970, Kasem began hosting American Top 40, produced by Ron Jacobs' Watermark Productions. Initially heard on just seven stations, AT40 was on 500 stations a decade later. After Shadoe Stevens took over as host in 1988, Kasem joined Westwood One for a new countdown show, Casey's Top 40. Three years after American Top 40 ended its run in 1995, AMFM Networks revived the show and Kasem was hosting again as well as doing two new Top 20 countdown shows based on the adult-contemporary and hot AC charts. Ryan Seacrest replaced Kasem on AT40 in January 2004. Kasem received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 1981 and was inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame in 1992.
Happy birthday, Casey! Your the best!!
Los Angeles Radio People. Jim Hawthorne's Radio Rewind. Apr. 27, 2004
In 1962, while at KEWB in Oakland, he retrieved a discarded copy of Who's Who In Pop Music from a wastebasket and started teasing the audience with brief bios of singers whose records he was about to play. These teasers became an industry standard. Kasem jocked at KRLA in Pasadena from 1963 to 1969. He made the Los Angeles record charts in 1964 with Letter From Elaina, reading a fan letter to the Beatles over the background music of George Martin's And I Love Her. Kasem became the voice of Scooby-Doo's sidekick, Shaggy, and of Robin in the animated Batman & Robin television series. On July 4, 1970, Kasem began hosting American Top 40, produced by Ron Jacobs' Watermark Productions. Initially heard on just seven stations, AT40 was on 500 stations a decade later. After Shadoe Stevens took over as host in 1988, Kasem joined Westwood One for a new countdown show, Casey's Top 40. Three years after American Top 40 ended its run in 1995, AMFM Networks revived the show and Kasem was hosting again as well as doing two new Top 20 countdown shows based on the adult-contemporary and hot AC charts. Ryan Seacrest replaced Kasem on AT40 in January 2004. Kasem received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 1981 and was inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame in 1992.
Happy birthday, Casey! Your the best!!
Los Angeles Radio People. Jim Hawthorne's Radio Rewind. Apr. 27, 2004