Martin Audio founder Bruce Patrick Martin died accidentally on September 23 while performing his duties with the Ocean Bay Park Water Company.
Martin’s career began in the 1960s as a student at Columbia University where he helped to rebuild the school radio station, WKCR-FM. His company began with his invention of the Martin Vari-Speed. He also designed and built recording consoles for a number of recording studios in the states and in the Caribbean. “The first new recording board I ever used was built by Bruce Martin for a studio in NY.” said Mike Bogen, the former vice-president and general manager of Martin Audio. With his partner, Norman Kassel, Bruce expanded Martin Audio to the point where it handled products from over 300 manufacturers, and employed over 60 people. The business was sold to Video Services Corp in 1989.
In recent years, Martin was a commissioner in the Ocean Bay Park Fire Department on New York’s Fire Island, where he lived. He was also the president of the Ocean Bay Park Water Company. He applied his creative and technical skills to designing and installing a very sophisticated remote computerized water testing and measuring system to control leakage and billing.
“Bruce Martin’s intellectual skills were balanced with a sense of honesty, decency, and kindness,” say colleagues Dick Maitland and Mike Bogen. “He leaves a legacy of leadership and dedication to the people he served.”
