Will Lewis , a pioneer of Los Angeles public radio who was known for his role in the Patty Hearst kidnapping, died Friday at his Thousand Oaks home. His son Robert Lewis confirmed he died of natural causes. He was 94.

The radio executive served as the general manager of KPFK in the 1970s, the only full-service public radio station in Los Angeles at the time, transforming it into one of the most popular in the nation. Under Lewis’ leadership, KPFK became a station where activists could express their views without fear of censorship; high profile visitors to the station included actors Martin Sheen, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda and her then-politician husband Tom Hayden, who stood trial in the Chicago Seven case. Lewis and the station won awards for its coverage of the Watergate scandal, includ

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