Longtime radio host Russ Martin found dead in Frisco home, police say; cause unclear
Longtime Dallas-Fort Worth radio host Russ Martin was found dead inside of his Frisco home a little after midnight Saturday, the Frisco Police Department said.
The cause of his death wasn’t known as of Saturday, but police said no foul play is suspected at this point in the investigation.
A friend of Martin’s had come to check on him and found him unresponsive, the police department said in a news release. Officers responded to the home in the 6300 block of Douglas Avenue in Frisco around 12:30 a.m. They pronounced him dead.
Martin was the host of The Russ Martin Show on 97.1 The Eagle. The station shared the news of his death in a statement on Saturday, saying, “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of 97.1 The Eagle’s Russ Martin.”
Radio hosts on 97.1 paid tribute to Martin during the day, and discussed how they were processing the news. Martin, whose long-running show has been a staple in the lives of many North Texans, was known for being open and honest about his opinions, occasionally going into rants on topics he was passionate about. He spoke about supporting police, firefighters and first responders, as well as protecting animals.
Jasmine Sadry, a radio host for Cumulus Media, worked alongside Martin more than a decade ago when she was a part of the Jagger Show, which operated out of the same building. She remembers him embracing her and the rest of the staff like a part of their “radio family,” and showing it by pulling pranks like a brother would.
It was “almost like when he poked at you, when he started a prank war, it was his way of showing that he loves you,” Sadry said. None of the pranks came to mind on Saturday, though she recalled some minor explosions.
Sadry continued to be an avid listener of his program after they stopped working together, and found his radio personality was close to his real-life personality.
“He always left you wondering what was gonna happen, and kind of kept you on your toes,” she said. “Russ has a way of doing that, I think even with his listeners. I think that’s why there’s such a love for him.”
She added that, “As far as radio goes, it’s a tremendous loss. He’s one of the greats.”
Friends and listeners shared tributes to the radio host on social media Saturday as they mourned his untimely and unexplained passing. It was unclear how old he was, but Sadry believes he was around 60.
On the Facebook page for the Russ Martin Show, a post on Saturday asked listeners to tune in at 1 p.m. for an important message, and fans who had already heard the news flooded the comments section. There were more than 800 comments by Saturday evening, many from people who said they had listened to him for decades. One man remembered having to pull over his car because he was laughing so hard at a segment.
Martin advocated for the artists he liked. Brent Smith, the lead singer of the rock band Shinedown, said on the airwaves of 97.1 on Saturday, “We are known in the great state of Texas because of Russ Martin.”
The host also called on his listeners to raise money for causes important to him. After Grand Prairie Officer A.J. Castaneda was struck by a car and killed in June 2019, his show wrote a check for $40,000 for the family of the fallen officer. He also raised $40,000 for the widow of Mitchell Penton, a Dallas officer who was killed by a suspected drunk driver earlier in February, according to media reports.
Frisco police and the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating Martin’s death.
No other updates would be released on Saturday, police said.
Police are asking anyone with information on the death to call the department at 972-292-6010 or send an anonymous tip by texting FRISCOPD and the tip to 847411 (tip411). People can also submit tips by downloading the Frisco PD app on iOS and Android devices, police said.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 2:08 PM.
