Legendary ‘America’s Top 40’ DJ Casey Kasem, 81, is ill with advanced Parkinson’s disease and the kids from his first marriage have not been allowed to see him for the past three months.
The radio icon’s children Kerri, Julie and Mike staged a protest in front of their father’s Holmby Hills estate in an effort to persuade their step-mother Jean Kasem to allow them access to their dad. Casey’s manager-brother, also barred from seeing his sibling, was on the scene to help plead their case.
Police were summoned and the protest ended. Daughter Kerri told a reporter, “We haven’t heard anything from her yet. We’re giving her a chance to respond privately, and if she doesn’t, we’re taking legal action. I think we’re going to wait until Monday or Tuesday. If she doesn’t answer our letters, we’ll have to do it in court. We hope it doesn’t come to that.”
They are worried that the isolation could speed up his decline. Kerri acknowledged, “There is no money issue here. We just want to see our dad. We love him, and everyone knows his kids and grandkids are a source of joy for him.”
Their names are not included in the will and they don’t care because they have personal trust funds and good jobs. His daughter explained, “Look, people fight and they don’t like each other, and that’s fine. But it’s cruel to keep us from seeing our dad. We don’t want any money from Jean. We don’t care about that. We were raised well, and we support ourselves.”
Kasem’s estate has been for sale since April, 2013, with an asking price of $43 million. His net worth is estimated to be $80 million.
Casey wed Jean, 59, in 1980. The actress appeared on the 80’s hit ‘Cheers’ and briefly on the spin-off ‘The Tortellis.’ They have one daughter together, Liberty, 23.
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