In 1963 Casey was a DJ for KRLA-1110, Pasadena, near Los Angeles (noon to 3 PM weekdays). KRLA was my favorite station and Casey was a star to me! Even in those days he ended his show each day with "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!"
When I was 19 in the summer of 1964, my friend Alan Coalson and I went to a dance Casey was hosting in the theater of the city library building in my hometown of Lynwood in Los Angeles County. We were so excited to meet Casey!
I noticed he was having trouble using the auditorium sound system to mic his band singers. So I told him that I had a sound system with an Altec 604C speaker in a cabinet at home I thought would work better for him. He asked me to go home and get it. When I returned and hooked it up, they loved it! So Casey hired me to bring my sound system to his dances for $5 per night plus free admission to the dances to meet the girls - about 3 more times in Lynwood.
Casey was 34 and single back then, and drove an old Cadillac. He reminded me of an aspiring Hollywood star. His checks to me were printed from "Kemel Casey Kasem." He gave me his home phone number too and I have not forgotten it: Hollywood 90028 (HO9-0028). I called him a couple of times. That made me feel pretty important, like I was a budding star!
He later moved his dances to Thousand Oaks, California, about 45 minutes north of Lynwood. So he raised my pay to $9 per night to cover my travel expenses, plus free admission of course to meet the girls. I did meet a girl there from Canogo Park named Louise Kelly who just happened to be LDS. I was shocked! That lasted another two or three times until Casey got his own sound system.
I was just a kid then who was a want-to-be DJ. I finally became one about 3 years later after I finished my 2-year church mission. I had kept in touch with Casey over the years. He always took the time to return my calls. Once in 1981 while I was gone from the house, my wife Linda answered the phone and took the message for me. She was so excited that she got to talk with him for a litle while!
Casey died on Father's Day, June 15, 2014 at the age of 82 years.
I pray that God will remember the kindness Casey has shown to me, a kid who wanted to follow him into the business. I will always remember Casey as an American legend and as my mentor. His greatest advise was, "Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!" To me that's a metaphor to stay grounded in Godly principles, and through hard work you will grow to become all that God intends for you to be — great words to live by!
And I pray that God's peace will be with Casey's family.
