Thursday, October 3, 2013

Casey Kasem's kids demand stepmom let them visit

LOS ANGELES - JUNE 15: Radio personality Casey Kasem arrives at the Golden Dads Awards ceremony at the Peterson Automotive Museum on June 15, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Amanda Edwards/Getty Images



The children of radio icon Casey Kasem are demanding to see their sick father.




Casey Kasem's three eldest kids are giving their stepmom until next week to change her tune about visits with their ailing, radio icon dad.


After that, they're taking legal action, daughter Kerri Kasem told the Daily News Thursday.


The kids from the "American Top 40" host's first marriage claim his current wife Jean Kasem has shut them out of their dad's life for the past three months.


They staged a public protest with picket signs outside his gated estate Tuesday, saying it's been three months since they've had contact with him.


Casey, 81, is suffering from advanced Parkinson's disease, and the kids are worried, Kerri said.


"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," Kerri vowed to The News. "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."


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Kerri, 41, said Tuesday that her dad is "very sick," and she and siblings Mike and Julie worry that isolation could hasten his decline.


"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," Kerri said.


She said the eldest kids have known for a long time that they aren't named in Casey's will, and they're fine with it.


They have personal trust funds and good jobs, she said.


"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," she told The News. "We don't want any money from Jean. We don't care about that. We were raised well, and we support ourselves."


She said it was sad when Jean called police Tuesday to keep her group - which included some of her dad's elderly friends and co-workers - back from the mansion's gates.


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"They said it was a 'high alert' call. I guess my dad's 70-year-old friends are a threat," she said. "Most of them were just sitting there."


Jean, 59, did not respond to a request for comment from The News.


She became the "American Top 40" host's second wife in 1980 and is best known for playing the ditzy wife of Nick Tortelli on the hit 80s sitcom "Cheers."


Casey, who voiced Shaggy on the iconic Saturday morning cartoon "Scooby-Doo," has one daughter with Jean - an aspiring 23-year-old singer named Liberty.


Earlier this year, the couple listed their mansion for sale for $42 million.


The 1954 estate has seven bedrooms, 11.5 bathrooms, a heart-shaped pool, a hair salon and a tennis court, according to Redfin.com.


ndillon@nydailynews.com


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