Zach Raney_son of recently deceased Bill Raney, of Santa Cruz Arthouse Theaters_2026-03-27_interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhackers Breakfast Club'

1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 Zach Raney_son of recently deceased Bill Raney, of Santa Cruz Arthouse Theaters_2026-03-27_interview on KZSC's 'Bushwhackers Breakfast Club' Bill Raney, Zach's dad, passed away exactly 1 month ago; Zach was adopted in 1968 from the Monterey Bay Children's Home Society, and lived with Bill &amp; Joanne Walker Raney in the house attached to the Nickelodeon Theater ("Nick 1"); that house was later jacked up &amp; moved down the street so that the Nick could expand ("Nick 2, 3, &amp; 4"; "Great Question&nbsp;#1"); What possessed Bill &amp; Joanne Walker Raney to start an arthouse cinema in Santa Cruz? ("Great Question&nbsp;#2): they had met in North Beach, where Bill was a self-described beatnik (and the subject of his first book) &amp; Joanne owned an arthouse theater - when they saw a movie theater for sale in Santa Cruz she sold that one, &amp; they bought it &amp; moved down (when was the Nick founded ["Great Question&nbsp;#3]: A - in 1967); Joanned died soon after, leaving Zach at age 1, and his adopted brother Zerky (short for Zirxses) 3; Zirky passed away the next year; Bill traveled the world with Zeirky (back when this was not easy to do), &amp; wrote about it in his book "Letters to Zerky: A Father's Legacy to a Lost Son...and a Road Trip Around the World" (with JoAnne Walker Raney as co-author); Bill remarried (Nancy), giving him a 2nd chance - Zach gained 2 step siblings; Nancy passed away in 2016; Zach went to Happy Valley School, where he was friends with "Sleepy John's" son, Ernie; Branciforte Junior High, then Harbor High &amp; Santa Cruz High; SF State, where he played baseball (Division 2, or "D-2"), later playing baseball in Niceragua, and for the Atlanta Braves farm team; How'd he land at Gateway School? ("Great Question #4); Zach was teaching in San Diego, where he had met &amp; married Athena, and had kids...when Kathy Sandidge, Ernie's wife, told him about a job at Gateway, the family, around the dinner table, was unanimous that he apply - and he got the job (his students were listening to the interview); how did Bill &amp; first Joanne, then Nancy, find movies? Bill spent a lot of time traveling, and would bring back movies in giant metal boxes of reels; the Sash Mill, which Bill also started, was showing a Beatles movie on the day John Lennon died; Bill screened the Rocky Horror Picture Show for years; when did the Sash Mill close ("Great Question&nbsp;#5) - not sure, but there was a restaurant out front; "The Money Question?" the Nick was an Institution! With the Sash Mill, very successful - Bill hosted the Ramones, who Zach got to meet backstage when he was in High School; Jim Swinderlee, Bill's business partner, bought the Nick &amp; the Del Mar - he sold both to Landmark Pictures, who closed them during Covid (Grrrrr...); about Bill Raney: he contracted dementia, which was debilitating...he was a great father...kind...loving...always an open door...welcome everybody with open arms;; Where was Zerky adopted from? "Great Question #6!" - Zach didn't know, &amp; wished he'd asked his dad. An interview on "The Bushwhacker's Breakfast Club" with "Dangerous Dan", airing Friday mornings on KZSC Santa Cruz, California. KZSC Santa Cruz http://kzsc.fm/talk <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/40659805/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/87A93A/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/200241530