LOS ANGELES -- Ron Martin, chairman of the board of the Academy of Country Music and a power behind the scenes of country and western radio, was stricken with a heart attack while playing golf and died en route to a hospital, the academy announced. He was 57.
Academy spokeswoman Fran Boyd said Martin, who had suffered two previous heart attacks this year, was pronounced dead Tuesday en route to UCLA Medical Center.
Martin had just reached the first green at Mountaingate Country Club with three friends when he collapsed, club spokesman Jim Schaeffer said.
Martin was president of the academy from 1978 to 1979, and was serving his second term as chairman of the board. He was also co-owner of the Weedeck Radio Network, a leading syndicator of country music programming.
He was producer and host of 'Country Report' and 'Country Report Countdown' for the network, which furnished programs for more than 200 radio stations nationwide. He also produced several country music specials.
Martin worked at country music stations in Jacksonville, Fla., New Orleans and Kansas City, Mo., before moving to Los Angeles. He gained national attention in 1970 when he introduced the country format to Los Angeles via KLAC, a formerly middle-of-the-road pop station.
KLAC remains a pre-eminent country music outlet in the vast Los Angeles broadcasting market.
He is survived by his wife, Peggy, two sons and two daughters. Funeral arrangements were pending.
