MARTIN, 84, ADVISER TO THREE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTS.

Byline: The New York Times

Louis E. Martin, whose work behind the scenes as an adviser to three Democratic presidents and whose efforts to bring more African-Americans into government earned him the sobriquet, ``the godfather of black politics,'' died Monday at an Orange County hospital. He was 84.

Martin served as the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and was widely viewed by both presidents as a valued counselor and liaison to the African-American political community. President Carter appointed him as a special presidential assistant.

In 1967, as an adviser to Johnson, Martin was influential in pressing him to name Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American justice on the Supreme Court.

In the 1960 presidential campaign, Martin helped persuade Kennedy to place a telephone call to Coretta Scott King to express dismay over the jailing of her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The phone call was widely credited with helping Kennedy win a major portion of the African-American vote.

Martin was able to wield considerable influence inconspicuously, his friends said.

Eddie Williams, the president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research organization in Washington, said it was surprising that Martin was largely unknown to the public at large, given his wide-ranging influence in the White House and his role in the development of African-American political power in the Democratic Party.

``One reason for this is that in Washington, he was the consummate political insider,'' Williams said. ``He traversed the corridors of power for many years without calling attention to himself and his achievements.''

Williams said that Martin was first called the ``godfather of black politics'' by The Washington Post, and that the nickname stuck.

Martin first came to Washington after he was recruited by a Kennedy brother-in-law, R. Sargent Shriver, to work in the Kennedy presidential campaign. After Kennedy was assassinated Nov. 22, 1963, Martin made a remarkably easy transition as a Johnson adviser, a transition few other Kennedy aides would make.

Clifford L. Alexander Jr., a White House counsel under Johnson, described Martin as his mentor and recalled that he and the president enjoyed an easy relationship. ``They talked to each other in the shorthand of experienced political pros,'' Alexander said.

Among the leading African-American public figures whom Martin helped raise to prominence was Vernon E. Jordan, now a close adviser to President Clinton. Martin helped recruit Jordan to head the National Urban League.

Besides his wife, Martin is survived by five daughters, Trudy Hatter of Diamond Bar, Anita Martin of Rockville, Md., Dr. Toni Martin of Berkeley, Linda Purkiss of Oakland, and Lisa Grant of San Francisco. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.