Condolences: Don Bustany
• Don Bustany, best known as the co-creator of American Top 40 and American Country Countdown, died on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Santa Barbara, CA. He was 89 years old. The news was initially reported on the website of the ADC (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee). Bustany, who was born in Detroit on August 10, 1928 was a pioneer in the Arab-American community and a longtime support of ADC.
Along with legendary personality Casey Kasem, Bustany co-created American Top 40 and American Country Countdown, both of which remain on the air nearly 50 years after their initial broadcasts, a testament to Bustany’s vision. Longtime fans of AT40 know that Bustany will be forever immortalized in that now infamous Casey Kasem “ponderous” outtake, where he demands, “Is Don on the phone?”
In the 1970s and ’80s, Bustany went on to become the camera coordinator and a director of The Bob Newhart Showand The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He also served as the technical coordinator on several other television programs. Bustany is survived by his stepdaughter, Kristen.
