Before this radio legend reached for the stars with his feet on the ground, he joined the voice cast of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You, a cartoon that has stood the test of time.
by Rich Watson
This post is part of the ninth edition of the Favorite TV Show Blogathon, a blog event. At the end, I’ll tell you where to find more posts like this.
Casey Kasem taught America how to count backwards. His syndicated radio show, American Top 40, told listeners which songs were popular each week. He also educated them about the musicians and their songs, answered questions about them, and dedicated songs by request.
In addition, he sustained a long career as a voice actor for animated series. One in particular continues to grow and evolve, over fifty years after its creation.
I remember Casey Kasem, and it was fun to read some background information on him and his radio work.
ReplyDeleteMarianne
Make Mine Film Noir
Thanks. I grew up with AT40, not to mention SCOOBY and many of the cartoons he worked on, so I liked learning more about him. Check out some of the other posts on deejays I’ve written from earlier this year.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting overview of Kasem's career! I used to listen to Casey's Top 40 program intermittently for years. It was kind of like listening to a friend in the business who had a endless supply of interesting stories. It figures he did lots of voice work for TV, but I never realized he was the voice of Shaggy. Your article reminded me that he also did a number of movies -- now I'm going to have to look him up on IMDb!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I never had much interest in the movies he made, but it’s cool that it was part of his career, along with so many other things.
ReplyDeleteI remember Kasey Kasem's Top 40 program well and I listened to it every week! Of course, it was later (although I was still young) that I learned of his voice work. He really did have a talent for it. I have to think Scooby-Doo... might not have been as successful without him breathing life into Shaggy! Anyway, thanks for taking part in the blogathon!
ReplyDeleteI used to record songs from AT40 onto a mixtape. I had dozens of them throughout the 80s.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in college in the '90s, Kasey Kasem was still doing the Top 40 on the weekend, and we always caught at least part of the show while doing our homework in the dorm :-) I had no idea he was the original voice of Shaggy! Neato!
ReplyDeleteI honestly thought that was common knowledge. Guess not.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting. I never knew all this about Casey Kasem. By the time Scooby-Doo came on, I was a little too old for Saturday morning cartoons, so I only watched it a few times. Now, I think it would be fun to see some of them. But I do remember American Top 40. I'd like to see him in The Glory Stompers and Cycle Savages!!
ReplyDeleteI think I saw THE GLORY STOMPERS but I don’t remember.
ReplyDeleteI miss Casey Kasem--he was such a classy guy, bless him.
ReplyDeleteI listened to AT40 for him as much as for the music.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason why Casey gets regular mentions on my page :)
ReplyDeleteNaturally!
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