OT: RIP Carl Kasell

[tomcat]

On the same day when Barbara Bush died, and a day after Harry Anderson (Night Court) died, it would be easy to miss the death of Carl Kasell, so I'd like to see that this does not happen.

Kasell was a broadcaster's broadcaster, blessed with a great set of pipes and a wonderful, absolutely straight delivery that NPR listeners relied on for decades. Later he revealed another, more whacky side to his personality as announcer and judge on the great radio quiz show, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."

Really a legendary figure in radio broadcasting.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I posted a link on my Facebook page to the NPR storyabout Carl Kassel and his passing.

Kasell began practicing his newscaster voice as a child and got his first on-air job at 16. He went on to anchor NPR's newscasts for more than 30 years and later served as judge and scorekeeper for the news quiz show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

I was able to attend a live taping of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! a few years ago. It was such a wonderful experience. It was one of the last WWDTM broadcasts that Kasell did.

He was just such a wonderful voice on the radio. More importantly, those who knew him described him as just as wonderful as a human being.

We will miss you tremendously, Mr. Kassell.

 

[Bigboote]

Peter Sagal had a nice remembrance on Morning Edition this morning. Carl was a great guy.

I hadn't heard about Harry Anderson. This has been a bad week.

 

[itsasport]

Wait, Wait... was hilarious in a very unintentional way. It was a group of Back Bay Blue Bloods with Katherine Hepburn accents.

They seemed very sweet in a "too, too" way.