Casey Kasem's Kids Appear on Today, Make Plea to See Their Father

Family and friends claim the 81-year-old's wife Jean will not let them visit the former host of the American Top 40 countdown

By Alyssa Toomey Oct 03, 2013 4:17 PMTags

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

While fans may not have heard from Casey Kasem in some time, the former radio personality's loved ones are continuing to speak out on his behalf.

Family and friends of the 81-year-old star, who claim that Kasem's health is currently deteriorating due to Parkinson's disease, appeared on the Today show this morning to continue their plea to see the former host of the American Top 40 countdown.

Kasem's three children, Julie, Kerri and Mike, from his previous marriage to Linda Myers, say they have not been able to see their father in three months because their stepmom and Casey's wife of over 30 years, Jean Kasem, is prohibiting them from visiting him. 

Kerri, Mike and Julie say they do not have a relationship with their stepmother, who married Casey in 1980. Jean and Casey have one daughter together, Liberty, a singer-songwriter.

"Unfortunately the disease may be killing his body but it doesn't need to kill his spirit and his soul," Casey's daughter Julie said on the Today show this morning, adding that Jean will not return their messages.

But it's not just family members who are concerned for Kasem. Chuck Olsen, a friend of Casey's for 63 years, told ABC7 that no one has been in touch with the star since April 2013. 

"Jean has just folded him up and kept him under wraps," he said on Today. "Nobody can get to him."

After countless requests to see Kasem fell on deaf ears, the former radio star's loved ones mounted a protest outside Casey's Los Angeles home and released a video of their public plea.

"We don't know where to go and hopefully we will see and love our brother and our dad and our good friend again," Casey's brother Mourner Kasem said with a heavy heart.

"I don't want any of his money. I don't want his estate. I don't want anything," daughter Julie added. "I simply want to see my father on a regular basis, give him a hug, hold his hand, give him a massage, put a smile on his face. It's that simple"

Jean Kasem did not respond to NBC News' request for comment

Chad Buchanan/Getty Images

Yesterday, Kerri Kasem told L.A.'s ABC7 that her stepmother will not answer her phone calls and tells her and siblings Mike and Julie to go away when they knock on the door. "He can't really speak, but he knows we're there," she said. "And last time we saw him, he could shuffle a little bit. He had a hard, very hard, time walking. He was just deteriorating due to Parkinson's disease."

And like her sister Julie, she insists her desire to see her ailing father does not stem from hopes of one day inheriting his fortune.

"We don't want to see him go and not say goodbye and not love him and not support him," she said. "We don't know how long he has."