Donald S. Bustany (August 10, 1928 – April 23, 2018) was an American radio and television broadcaster.
Biography
editBustany was born in Detroit to Lebanese-American parents.[1] He and radio host/voice actor Casey Kasem were childhood friends, and later co-creators of the syndicated radio programs American Top 40 and American Country Countdown.[2]
In the 1970s, Bustany was camera coordinator of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, and other MTM productions. Earlier he had produced local talk shows on several Los Angeles, California stations.[citation needed]
Education
editBustany graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts from Wayne State University and an MS in Communications from Syracuse University.[citation needed]
Activism
editBustany was an activist for the Palestinian right of return. From 1996 until 2014, he produced and hosted the radio program Middle East in Focus on KPFK, the Los Angeles station of the Pacifica Radio network; he remained a correspondent to the program. The show's "mission is to fill the many gaps left by the mainstream media in their coverage" of the Middle East.[3]
He was a member of the advisory committee of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee[4] and, in the 1990s, served for four terms as president of the organization's Los Angeles chapter.
For his statements regarding the Zionist Movement and Israel, he had been criticized by such organizations as the JDL and the Zionist Organization of America.[5] He was also a member of the board of directors of the Southern California Chapter of Americans for Democratic Action.
Death
editBustany died on April 23, 2018, in Santa Barbara, California, aged 89.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Making a Difference". Embassy of Lebanon in Washington, DC. Government of Lebanon. 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
- ^ Durkee, Rob. American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century. ISBN 0-02-864895-1. New York City: Schirmer Books, 1999.
- ^ "Middle East in Focus". KPFK website. KPFK. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ "LLEHCPA-ADC Letter of Support" (PDF) (Press release). American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. February 12, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
- ^ "ZOA Urges FBI to Cancel Award to Official of Pro-Terrorist Group". Zionist Organization of America website. Zionist Organization of America. 2007. Archived from the original on October 3, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2007.
- ^ "ADC Mourns Passing of Don Bustany". ADC. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
External links
edit- Don Bustany at IMDb
- "Don Bustany: Truth Be Told", Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 1999 (pp. 51, 84)