Los Angeles ? Otis Chandler, who as publisher of the Los Angeles Times during the 1960s and ’70s turned a narrow, conservative publication into one of the nation’s most distinguished and influential newspapers, died Monday at 78.

Chandler, who had been suffering from a degenerative brain disorder known as Lewy body disease, died at his home in Ojai, said Tom Johnson, who succeeded him as publisher and retired as chairman and chief executive of CNN News Group.

The Times won seven Pulitzer Prizes during Chandler’s tenure.

Chandler resigned as the paper’s publisher in 1980 following 20 years at the helm.

Chandler was the recipient of the William Allen White Foundation National Citation in 1975.

Survivors include his wife, Bettina, sons Harry and Michael, and daughters Carolyn Chandler and Cathleen Chandler. A memorial service is scheduled for March 6 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena.