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Carl Kasell, NPR Newscaster, Dies From Alzheimer's at 84

Carl Kasell, NPR Newscaster, Dies From Alzheimer's at 84
National Public Radio's Carl Kasell delivers one of his last newscasts during the Morning Edition program at NPR Dec. 30, 2009 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Tuesday, 17 April 2018 05:34 PM EDT

Carl Kasell, a newscaster on National Public Radio programs for more than three decades, died on Tuesday at age 84 in Potomac, Maryland, from complications from Alzheimer's disease, according to NPR. 

Kasell was best known in recent years as the announcer and scorekeeper for the NPR news quiz show "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" for which he would record answering machine and voice mail greetings for the show's winners, Reuters reported. 

Kasell, a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame, recorded more than 2,200 greetings between the show's premiere in 1998 and his retirement in 2014.

"Carl was warm, funny, caring, and put up with our nonsense with a knowing smile and a wink. In a word, he was a gentleman," the "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" show's account said on Twitter.

Goldsboro, North Carolina-born Kasell first joined NPR in 1975 as a part-time newscaster for its "Weekend All Things Considered" program and ascended to full-time newscaster on its weekday news program "Morning Edition" from its inception in 1979 until 2009.

In announcing his death, NPR's Neda Ulaby described Kasell as having a "lively sense of humor" behind the "unflappable authority" his voice lent to the news. 

© 2026 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.


TheWire
Carl Kasell, a National Public Radio host for more than three decades, died Tuesday at age 84 in Potomac, Maryland, from complications from Alzheimer's disease, according to NPR.
carl kasell, dies, npr, newscaster
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2018-34-17
Tuesday, 17 April 2018 05:34 PM
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