When Casey Kasem’s name comes up in news stories about family disputes, estate conflicts, or his final years, a quieter name often appears alongside it — Linda Myers Kasem, his first wife and the mother of three of his children.
She is not a celebrity in her own right. But because of her marriage to one of American radio’s most recognized voices, and because of her children’s occasional presence in public life, her name has made its way into entertainment journalism, genealogy records, and legal coverage.
This article covers who Linda Myers Kasem is, her marriage to Casey Kasem, their children, why her name appears in different forms across sources, and the broader family context that sometimes brings her name into public view.
Who Is Linda Myers Kasem?
Linda Myers Kasem is best known as the first wife of radio personality Casey Kasem. Outside of that connection, she has kept a very low public profile, and detailed personal information — such as her birthdate or early life — is not widely documented in mainstream sources.
She does have one confirmed acting credit. IMDb lists her under the name “Linda Myers” for a role in the 1980 film Up the Academy. That appears to be the extent of her public career in entertainment.
Genealogy platforms like MyHeritage record her under the combined name “Linda Myers Kasem,” which reflects the convention of linking a person’s maiden name with their married surname. She is not a public figure in the traditional celebrity sense, and this article will only cover what has been confirmed in public records and credible sources.
Her Marriage to Casey Kasem and Their Children
Linda Myers and Casey Kasem were married sometime in the early-to-mid 1970s, though sources do not fully agree on the exact dates. Wikipedia places the marriage between 1972 and 1979, while IMDb notes the marriage as lasting from 1969 to November 20, 1980. These are conflicting figures, and without a definitive primary source, it is fair to say the marriage took place roughly across the 1970s and ended by 1980.
Together, Linda and Casey had three children:
- Mike Kasem, born August 24, 1973
- Kerri Kasem, born July 12, 1978
- Julie Kasem
These details are confirmed across IMDb, MyHeritage, and Wikipedia. IMDb’s trivia section for Linda specifically notes she is the “mother of Kerri Kasem, Julie Kasem and Mike Kasem.”
After the divorce, Casey Kasem married actress Jean Thompson — known publicly as Jean Kasem — in 1980. They remained married until his death in 2014. Casey and Jean have one daughter together: Liberty Jean Kasem.
So the Kasem family, in broad terms, has two branches: the three children from the first marriage to Linda, and Liberty from the second marriage to Jean. This structure is important context for understanding why Linda’s name occasionally surfaces in family and legal stories connected to Casey.
The Name Variations — Linda Myers, Linda Kasem, and Linda Naylor
One of the more common reader questions about Linda is why her name appears differently across sources. The short answer is that the variations reflect different points in her life.
Linda Myers is her maiden name, used in her acting credit for Up the Academy.
Linda Kasem or Linda Myers Kasem reflects her married surname from her marriage to Casey. Genealogy-style records use this form to connect her to the Kasem family tree.
Linda Naylor or Linda Myers Naylor indicates that she remarried after her divorce from Casey. A 2014 Hollywood Reporter article identifies her as “Casey Kasem’s first wife, Linda Myers Naylor,” which is one of the few times she is mentioned by name in mainstream entertainment journalism.
Kerri Kasem publicly confirmed her mother’s current name in a Facebook post, writing: “My Mom, Linda Kasem Naylor, made me a gluten-free red velvet cake when the ‘Visitation Bill’ got passed in Iowa!”
So when you see references to Linda Myers, Linda Kasem, or Linda Naylor — they all refer to the same person at different points in her life.
Casey Kasem — His Career and Why His Family Became Public News
To understand why Linda’s name appears at all in public coverage, it helps to understand who Casey Kasem was and how well known he became.
Casey Kasem was born Kemal Amin Kasem on April 27, 1932, in Detroit, Michigan. His parents emigrated from Lebanon — his father from Moukhtara, and his mother from a Lebanese family in Pennsylvania. He was raised in the Lebanese Druze tradition.
His professional legacy rests on two major pillars. First, he created and hosted American Top 40, a weekly radio countdown program that became one of the most listened-to shows in American broadcast history. He also hosted American Top 20 and American Top 10. His warm voice and signature sign-off — “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars” — became a part of American pop culture.
Second, he was a prominent voice actor. He is perhaps most widely recognized outside radio as the voice of Shaggy Rogers across multiple Scooby-Doo series, a role that brought him to audiences far beyond radio listeners.
His Later Years and Death
In his final years, Casey Kasem suffered from Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological condition. His declining health became the center of a very public and painful family dispute — primarily between his adult children from his first marriage and his second wife, Jean Kasem.
The disputes involved access to Casey, decisions about his medical care, and later, questions about his estate. Media coverage from this period — roughly 2012 to 2014 — frequently referenced his adult children Kerri, Julie, and Mike as active parties trying to gain access to their father.
A 2014 Hollywood Reporter article brought Linda’s name into this coverage when it described her as “Casey Kasem’s first wife, Linda Myers Naylor,” connecting her to the broader family conflict in a supporting capacity as the mother of those adult children.
Casey Kasem died on June 15, 2014, in Gig Harbor, Washington. Legal and investigative activity continued after his death. A Patch news report noted that evidence had led to a murder investigation, with references to his adult children from his prior marriage to Linda Myers as part of that process. It is important to note that these were investigative proceedings — no public court finding of guilt has been cited in the available sources. The article avoids drawing any conclusions beyond what those sources clearly state.
Linda’s Children and Their Public Lives
While Linda herself has stayed out of the spotlight, two of her children have had some public presence.
Kerri Kasem has worked in radio and has been an outspoken advocate for patient visitation rights — inspired in part by her family’s experience with Casey’s illness. Kerri has spoken publicly about her father and has referenced her mother, Linda, in social media posts. The Facebook post about the “Visitation Bill” cake is one example — it shows Linda in a supportive, behind-the-scenes role.
Mike Kasem has also worked in radio, following his father into the industry.
Both Kerri and Mike have discussed their family openly at times, which is part of why their mother’s name occasionally appears in connected coverage — even though Linda herself has not sought a public platform.
What We Know and What We Don’t
For readers researching Linda Myers Kasem, it is worth being clear about the limits of what is publicly documented.
What is confirmed: she was Casey Kasem’s first wife, the mother of Mike, Kerri, and Julie Kasem, and she has a single acting credit in Up the Academy (1980). She later remarried and is known in more recent records as Linda Myers Naylor or Linda Kasem Naylor.
What is not publicly documented: her exact birthdate, her early life and background, details of her remarriage, or any ongoing public career. Responsible coverage of someone like Linda — a private individual connected to a famous person — means acknowledging those limits rather than filling gaps with guesswork.
If you are building a family tree or researching the Kasem family for any reason, resources like MyHeritage, FamilySearch, and IMDb can provide structured genealogical context. For broader celebrity family research and background reading, Bubiz Business covers a range of profiles and public interest topics in a similarly grounded way.
A Final Note
Linda Myers Kasem occupies a real but quiet place in a very public family story. She was married to one of American radio’s defining voices, raised three children, and has largely stayed away from the media attention that surrounded her ex-husband’s later years.
Her name comes up not because she sought recognition, but because the people around her — Casey Kasem and their children — became part of a story that millions of people followed. That is a fairly common experience for the former spouses and family members of famous people, and it deserves to be reported carefully and with appropriate respect for what remains private.
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