DJ Casper

DJ Casper
Background information
Birth name	William Perry Jr.
Also known as	Mr. C the Slide Man
Born	May 31, 1965 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 7, 2023 (aged 58) Hazel Crest, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Dance electronica pop-rap
Occupation(s)	DJ hype man songwriter
Years active	1998–2023
Labels	Island Def Jam Universal
Website	casperclassicradio.org

William Perry Jr. (May 31, 1965 – August 7, 2023), better known as DJ Casper (also known as Mr. C the Slide Man), was an American disc jockey. Born and raised in Chicago, he was known as "Casper" due to frequently being clad in all white attire on stage.

Career

Perry's first and only hit record, "Casper Slide Pt. 1" – also known as "Cha Cha Slide" – was created by Perry for his nephew, who worked as a personal trainer at a Bally Total Fitness in 1998. After the song grew in popularity as an aerobic exercise at fitness clubs and PE in schools, Casper created a second song in 2000, titled "Casper Slide Pt. 2", which was picked up by Elroy Smith at Chicago's radio station, WGCI-FM.

The song became a hit in Chicago in 2004, when the city's M.O.B. Records record label became involved as well, helping Perry create a whole compilation album with other Chicago-based artists to promote the dance. "Cha Cha Slide" was later picked up by Universal Records.

Perry made an appearance as a DJ in a season 6 episode of Orange Is the New Black, in Crazy Eyes' hallucination of the prisoners and guards line dancing to the Cha Cha Slide.

Illness and death

In January 2016, Perry was diagnosed with kidney cancer and neuroendocrine cancer. After an unsuccessful surgery the same month, he began chemotherapy. In an interview in July 2018, he stated he was in remission. In 2019, Perry stated that he beat his kidney and liver cancers and said he was a changed man, stating "that was God's way of just slowing me down just a little bit."

Perry died of kidney and liver cancer on August 7, 2023, at the age of 58.

Discography

Albums

• Out Champ (1999)
• Cha-Cha Slide: The Original Slide Album (2000)
• Casper (2001)
• I Love You (2022)

Singles