The first three hours of his evening show remained devoted to R&B recordings in a "high-energy rock" style, while the fourth hour was more laidback with his news reader as a co-host.
Kasem's predecessor in the time slot, Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers, partially inspired Kasem's presentation on-air, : 1318 but Kasem felt compelled to develop a unique on-air persona to distinguish himself. Within three months, Kasem reached second place behind WHK in ratings surveys on weeknights : 202 and number one on Saturday nights. Kasem's tenure in Cleveland was a brief but successful one, entering the market "with a vengeance" against Top 40 stations WHK and KYW. Kasem identified himself as "Casey at the Mike" : 1318 owing to varied misspellings of his name in both contemporary news accounts and station promos. : 202 Cleveland's emerging status as a popular music epicenter appealed to Kasem, having been aware of WERE's Bill Randle dating back to when Randle worked in Detroit. : 201–202 Returning to Detroit, Kasem re-applied at WJBK but was promptly referred to co-owned WJW, which not only had a late-evening slot open but a hosting role for Cleveland Bandstand over WJW-TV as well. Kasem unsuccessfully attempted work as a stage actor in New York City for six months, auditioning for a role in the off-Broadway production Ivan Of, but lost out to Ed Asner.
Career Early career Īfter the war, Kasem began his professional broadcasting career in Flint, Michigan, then worked at Detroit's WJLB and WJBK-and portrayed children's television host "Krogo the Clown" : 1318 -but left broadcasting to help tend to the family grocery store : 201 in Fenton, Michigan. There, he worked as a DJ/announcer on the Armed Forces Radio Korea Network. He then attended Wayne State University, where he voiced children on radio programs such as The Lone Ranger and Challenge of the Yukon. Kasem received his first experience in radio covering sports at Northwestern High School in Detroit. In the 1940s, "Make Believe Ballroom" reportedly inspired Kasem to follow a career in radio. Kasem's parents did not allow their children to speak Arabic and insisted they assimilate into American life.
He was named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a man Kasem said his father respected. Kasem was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 27, 1932, to Lebanese Druze immigrants, Helen and Amin Kasem, who were grocers. 2.2 1970–1988: Acting/voiceover work and American Top 40.Kasem also provided many commercial voiceovers, performed many voices for children's television (such as Sesame Street and the Transformers cartoon series), was "the voice of NBC" and helped with the annual Jerry Lewis telethon. He also founded the American Video Awards in 1983 and continued to co-produce and host it until its final show in 1987. Along the way, spin-offs of the original countdown were conceived for country music and adult contemporary audiences, and Kasem hosted two countdowns for the latter format beginning in 1992 and continuing until 2009. He would then spend nine years hosting another countdown titled Casey's Top 40, beginning in January 1989 and ending in February 1998, before returning to revive American Top 40 in 1998. Kasem began hosting the original American Top 40 on the weekend of July 4, 1970, and remained there until 1988. He was the first actor to voice Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise (1969 to 19 to 2009) and as Dick Grayson/Robin in ‘’ Super Friends’’ (1973-1985). Kemal Amin " Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40.