Buz Bezore, founding editor of the Santa Cruz Weekly and longtime Santa Cruz alternative journalism pioneer passed away on March 6, at age 68, after many years in declining health.
Bezore, born May 5, 1945, and among the first graduates of UCSC, was a Santa Clara native who fell in love with Santa Cruz on many early morning surfing expeditions to Little Wind and Sea. An early adopter of gonzo journalism, Bezore was a music critic and then editor at the Santa Cruz Independent during the late 1970s, going on to found the Santa Cruz Express, where he worked with and mentored some of the leading proponents of alternative reportage.
He came on board in the infancy of Metro Newspapers, continuing to work with publisher Dan Pulcrano here in Santa Cruz with Metro Santa Cruz (which became the Santa Cruz Weekly). A graceful writer himself, he prided himself on surrounding himself with writers whom he considered “the best,” and he vigorously attracted, and wore out a string of the finest, most patient art directors in California.
Living to the hilt his personal motto to “spread joy and revolution,” he was a sensitive editor, uncanny in his ability to preserve each writer’s voice. Alert to whatever radical news story might be breaking, he devoted his life to tweaking the noses of sacred cows everywhere. An irreplaceable figure in the media history of late 20th century Santa Cruz, he burned brightly and left a playful legacy.
He is survived by his mother and step-father Norma and Roy Cilia of Santa Clara, a sister Lani, brother Roy Jr., and grand-daughter Rhiannon Bezore of Santa Cruz.
