Bill Bixler, longtime Malibu High music teacher, dies at 80 Play

Longtime Malibu High School music teacher Bill Bixler has died.

His wife Leslie announced his death on social media this morning. He had been battling cancer for several years.

For 10 years, Bixler was the volunteer host of the Big Mix jazz show on KBUU. Most recently, he was the producer for Dick Van Dyke's jazz album.

Bix was a native of the San Joaquin Valley. He had been a farmer in the Sierra foothills. He owned a nightclub in Fresno and was a teacher there before moving to Malibu High School.

He played in 1960s garage/studio bands like The Cindermen, which played as an opening act for the Rolling Stones at a concert that ended in a riot. He later ran the iconic Fresno music venue Wild Blue Yonder with his brother Jim Bixler from 1974 through the mid-1990s.

Bixler's deep voice and bemused attitude made him a student favorite at Malibu High. One of his famous jokes to students at the beginning of class was, "You can either shut up or not — I get paid either way."

Bixler retired in 2014. His house burned in the 2018 fire. He and his wife Leslie saved three or four guitars and his four really good saxophones — but lost the Steinway grand piano. They rebuilt their canyon house.

He leaves behind his wife Leslie and son Robben, and two children from an earlier marriage.

Leslie wrote on Facebook these words: "He fought patiently until it was useless to fight anymore and then he let go. He loved his life and his family and me with all his heart. He brought light and love to everyone he knew. I love him more than life itself."

Bill Bixler — Malibu musician, teacher and KBUU jazz show host — was about 80 years old.