Voice of Shaggy in "Scooby Doo" Dead at 82

Radio legend and former American Top 40 host Casey Casem died this morning in Washington State at the age of 82. Casem died as the result of complications from Lewy body dementia, a type of dementia that is often associated with Parkinson's disease. His daughter Kerri broke the news this morning on FaceBook.

If you are 30 or younger you probably never heard of Kasey Casem, but chances are you would recognize his voice. From 1969 to 2009 Casem voiced the role of cowardly teenage slacker Norville  "Shaggy" Rogers, the best friend and owner of the beloved canine Scooby-Doo. Together with Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley, Scooby and his gang of five have solved various mysteries as part of the crime solving group Mystery, Inc.

Casem first voiced the role of Shaggy in the popular Hanna Barbara Saturday Morning Cartoon Scooby-Doo: Where Are You (1969-1971) and played the role in subsequent series such as Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Doo (1979-1980), The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries (1983-1984) and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988-1991). Casem's last performance as Shaggy was in the direct-to-video movie Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword. 

Just a few weeks ago, Casem was involved in a mystery case himself when he went missing. He was later found at a hospital in Washington State. For a long time now, there has been a huge family fued between Kasem's second wife Jean Casem and his children. Back in October, His oldest children with his first wife Linda Myers claimed that Jean had blocked contact with them for three months. Just a month ago Kerri Casem was granted conservatorship of her father despite Jean's objections.

The voice actor who entertained millions on radio and TV lost his ability to speak when he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. In a statement, Kerri said that even though her father "is in a better place and is no longer suffering, we are heartbroken". If you ever watched Scooby-Doo on Saturday mornings, you probably share that same sentiment.