Norman Pattiz, founder of the Westwood One radio network that distributed programming helmed by Casey Kasem and Larry King to stations across the country, has died at age 79.
His death Tuesday was confirmed by Westwood One, which is now owned by Cumulus Media, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“With Norm Pattiz’s passing, we have lost a true media visionary,” said Suzanne Grimes, president of Westwood One and executive vice president for Cumulus, said in a statement to the Times.
Los Angeles native Pattiz was an unemployed television sales manager when he founded Westwood One as a syndicated radio company in 1975. At the time, radio networks largely provided news and sports programming, but Pattiz set out to create new offerings, starting with a 52-hour marathon of Motown music he lined up 250 stations to broadcast. Pattiz developed programming that including recorded rock concerts and “Dr. Demento,” the novelty record show hosted by Barry Hansen, and gave it free to radio stations that would air his presold national advertisements.
It also created “Off the Record,” a contemporary music interview program hosted by Mary Turner, an LA DJ, who Pattiz married a few years later.
Westwood One grew rapidly, and went public in 1984 boasting a reach of 190 million people daily. A year later, it acquired the Mutual Broadcasting System, which carried Larry King’s syndicated talk radio program. Pattiz also bought the NBC Radio Network from General Electric in 1987. And in 1988, Pattiz lured Kasem away from ABC Radio to host a new music countdown show, eventually gaining the rights to his “American Top 40” as well.
The acquisitions helped Westwood become one of the nation’s largest networks. Pattiz also bought radio stations outright, and Westwood also supplied local traffic, news and sports programming to television stations across the country.
But the deals also loaded Westwood up with debt, and the stock fell out of favor, eventually being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in 2008. Private equity firm Gores Group, an early backer, bought the network in 2009, then merged it with Dial Global in 2011. Cumulus Media aquired Westwood in 2013.
The Times said Pattiz left the network in 2010. He launched a new company, PodcastOne, in 2013.
He also served on the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcast services, and backed the development of Radio Sawa and Alhurra Televison, the U.S. government’s Arabic-language radio and TV services.
He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2009.
Pattiz was a regent for the University of California from 2001 to 2017, when he stepped down over sexually inappropriate comments made during a commercial taping at the PodcastOne Studio. “I have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said at the time. “My conscience is clear. I just want to take 16 years of great memories and move on.”
While he was a fixture in the audio business for decades, Pattiz was also known as a Los Angeles Lakers superfan and a courtside regular at Crypto.com Center, formerly the Staples Center.
“Norm Pattiz and his rolled-up game program were fixtures at Lakers home games for decades,” the Lakers said in a Facebook post. “We will always treasure his spirit for the game and love for the team. He will be missed.”
Arena president Lee Zeidman, in a tribute on Twitter, said “The world of radio & podcasting lost a legend, the Lakers lost a super fan of 30+ yrs, Mary lost the love of her life & I lost a best friend of over 30 yrs,” The executive posted a thread recalling traveling to Lakers games on his private jet and gifts of expensive suits. “His sense of humor, wisdom & generosity were off the charts. We laughed, we played but most of all we were there for each other.”
Lakers legend Magic Johnson also paid tribute. “I’ll always remember Norm cheering on the Lakers from his floor seats & clapping on every possession & play with his program!”
