<P> The four teenage lead characters of Scooby - Doo were inspired by four of the main characters from the 1959 - 63 American sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, with Shaggy having been derived from the character Maynard G. Krebs, as played by Bob Denver . Maynard's beatnik - style goatee, general appearance, and use of the word "like" as a form of punctuation all found their way into the character of Shaggy, with the base personality of the character updated to make him a hippie rather than a beatnik . </P> <P> Casey Kasem, the first voice actor for Shaggy, said that he originally felt uncomfortable after being assigned to Shaggy . Kasem stated that while he was "hip to what hippies were about", he had never before portrayed a hippie character . Kasem had wanted to portray Fred Jones, and Frank Welker had wanted to portray Shaggy . Instead, the CBS network assigned Kasem to Shaggy and Welker to Fred . Unsure of what the voice of a hippie would sound like, Kasem based his vocal style and mannerisms for Shaggy on those of Richard Crenna's character Walter Denton from the radio / television sitcom Our Miss Brooks . </P> <P> Kasem stated that as he continued to voice Shaggy, the character evolved . Kasem explained that the "voice dynamics" improved and that his laughs increasingly gained quality . Kasem added that Shaggy in 2002 is "more frightened today than he was at the beginning ." Kasem convinced the producers that Shaggy should be a vegetarian, like himself, in 2002 . </P> <P> Radio disc - jockey, comedian, and actor Casey Kasem created the character's voice . Kasem voiced Shaggy for 28 years, from Scooby - Doo, Where Are You! in 1969 until the Bravo Dooby Doo episode of Johnny Bravo in 1997 . Starting with What's New, Scooby - Doo? in 2002 and Looney Tunes: Back in Action in 2003, Kasem resumed the role and continued to do so until his retirement in 2009 . Billy West voiced the character in the film Scooby - Doo on Zombie Island (1998). Scott Innes (who has also voiced Scooby and Scrappy - Doo) voiced Shaggy in the 1999--2001 direct - to - video films, and in video games until 2009 . Innes reprised Shaggy in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and a DirecTV commercial featuring the Scooby gang in 2008 . Scott Menville voiced Shaggy in Shaggy & Scooby - Doo Get a Clue! . As of 2010, Matthew Lillard, who also played Shaggy in the 2002 and 2004 live - action films, took over the voice of Shaggy . Lillard also played Shaggy in Robot Chicken and MAD . Nick Palatas played Shaggy in the 2009 and 2010 live - action films . </P>

Is shaggy off of scooby doo a vegetarian