Casey Kasem Dead at 82

Sad news from the radio and music world, as legendary American Top 40 host Casey Kasem has died at the age of 82, reports TMZ.

Daughter Kerri Kasem posted a message on Facebook saying that he died Sunday morning and was surrounded by family and friends. "Even though we know he is in a better place and no longer suffering, we are heartbroken," she writes.

Kasem had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and dementia, and was moved to a support home in Santa Monica, California by his wife Jean. His illness over the past several months caused a war over his care between Jean and Casey's children from his first marriage, who claimed that Jean was blocking them from seeing Casey.

Casey Kasem hosted the American Top 40 show beginning in 1970 and did his weekly countdown until 2004. He continued to broadcast shows until 2009, when he retired from radio.

He's also known as the original voice of Shaggy from the original Scooby-Doo cartoons from the 1970s. He continued to voice Shaggy in various cartoons until 2007 and even was responsible for turning Shaggy into a vegetarian, as that was one of his stipulations for continuing to voice the character.

We send our condolences to Casey's family, friends and everyone who grew up listening to his Top 40 countdowns.