There’s a little pain in Santa Cruz hearts for longtime Santa Cruz media icon and commentator Bruce Bratton, who passed away this week.
To paraphrase Mark Twain, Bruce Bratton was not a Santa Cruzan. He was the Santa Cruzan.
As longtime event promoter Sleepy John Sandidge puts it, “He was a curmudgeon, a historian, one of our leading characters in town, and so important to the history of Santa Cruz.”
If you are from Santa Cruz, you’ve been influenced by Bruce Bratton. His byline appeared in virtually every newspaper in Santa Cruz—often in the Good Times—and his voice was regularly heard on every community radio station on the central coast.
One of his longtime colleagues—former Good Times editor Steve Palopoli—described Bratton as “an unstoppable force. As his editor on and off for years, we butted heads plenty of times and could drive each other crazy, but I always knew he cared deeply about Santa Cruz.
ºIt didn’t matter where he was writing at any given time, his Bruce Bratton-ness was a constant that both shaped and challenged how the community saw itself,” Palopoli said. “There won’t be another one like him.”
In the ’60s, Bratton was a founding member of the vaudeville band Goodtime Washboard Three. He played the washtub bass. I interviewed Bratton last May and asked him about his band.
“We got a record deal with Fantasy Records, did several singles and ended up on Bing Crosby’s TV show with Louis Armstrong,” Bratton said.
“We knew Bing from the Bohemian Club. We played the Hungry Eye, the Purple Onion.” he recalled. “We played with people like Woody Allen, Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce and Tom Lehrer. When I moved to Santa Cruz we played at the Bookshop Santa Cruz at their yearly birthday party for thirty years.”
Bratton was raised in Lockport, New York. The Bratton family moved to California when Bruce was 18 years old. He trained German shepherds for two years in the Army’s K-9 Corps, then attended UC Berkeley, majoring in communications and public policy. At Berkeley, he started working in radio at KPFA, wrote for the Daily Californian, and reviewed the first Monterey Jazz Festival.
After finishing college, Bratton was a science illustrator at the Biochemistry Virus Lab and is credited with doing some of the first illustrations of RNA and DNA chains. He married and had two daughters, Hillary and Jennifer. He lived in Davenport and Corralitos and finally in Arbor Cove, according to the community’s website.
He wrote columns for Santa Cruz Magazine, The News and The Express. During his last tenure with Good Times, he had a “major disagreement about spelling” with the editor, according to Coast News.
In addition to his written work, Bratton hosted Universal Grapevine, a weekly radio program on KZSC 88.1 FM—a show that reflected his deep engagement with the Santa Cruz community. He was a vocal advocate on Santa Cruz issues, including land-use battles and cultural initiatives. He was also on the KZSC morning show Bushwackers as a film critic.
The man spoke his mind and would not water it down; he would inspire people or rile them. His columns could be about any topic, from fluoride to Girl Scout cookies—“because I am so interested in so many things.” It could be local history, politics, performing arts, cinema, and community life. For more than 48 years, he penned weekly opinion columns featuring historical photographs of the area and has been a regular contributor to all the local papers, including the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Good Times.
Bratton Online was the last incarnation of his weekly opinion columns. For years I read his three-to-five-line critical reviews of films to determine what movie to watch. What you see on Bratton Online is what you will see in the film.
Bruce Bratton helped form the ’60s ethos of Santa Cruz and continued to be key in the evolution of the Santa Cruz mentality and sensibility. There’s never been anyone like him,. We’re gonna miss him. Farewell, Bruce.
Bruce was not only a Santa Cruz icon, he was a true friend, mentor, and positive influence on my life. Always interested in what I was doing and where I was. I will miss his wisdom and leadership in acknowledging the trends of city government and culture. Bruce, you will not be soon forgotten. RIP dear brother.
Cafe Pergolesi, gone. Logos, gone. Tampicos, gone. India Joze, gone. Saturn Cafe, gone. Literary Guillotine, gone. Tabby Cat, gone. Poet and the Patriot, gone. Nickleodean Theatre, gone. Toadal Fitness, going. New Leaf, gone. Credit Union, for all intents and purposes, gone.
And now drops the biggest, progressive, (hippie era) cultural institutional beam of all, the one that held up so many others, columnist and fellow rabble-rouser, Bruce Bratton. I will miss you my friend, miss you already.
Krohn & Glover, Gone.
We are going to miss you Bruce. I enjoyed discussing all manner of subjects. One being what happens after this life.
You were a force of nature, a unique blend of brilliance and eccentricity, sharp wit and unwavering opinions. A captivating conversationalist, always ready to spark a debate.
Beyond your intellect you were a talented musician and writer, leaving a legacy of creative expression.
We will miss your authentic voice, infectious laughter and unwavering spirit…. and your movie reviews.
No one cared so much about the quality of life in Santa Cruz county as you.
What a fantastic life… 5 out of 5 stars
Bruce was an ardent supporter of my Cineclub film screenings I organized at UCSC. Thanks largely to him, what was going to be a one-off summer fling became an institution that last years, until I left Santa Cruz for Korea. He helped shape the series into a real community. I feel so privileged to have known him so many years. May his memory be a blessing. It definitely will be.