World Famous Bushman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids World Famous Bushman
David Johnson, also known as The Bushman, in August 2007
Born	David Johnson
Occupation	Busker
Years active	1980–2019

Johnson involves a passing child in his act

David Johnson, also known as the World Famous Bushman, is a street performer, or busker. He is famous for surprising people along Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. He has been doing this since 1980.

Johnson hides very still behind some eucalyptus branches. He waits for people to walk by without noticing him. When they get close, he shakes the bush towards them. This often makes a gruff "oogah-boogah" sound. People who know about him often giggle as others get startled! Crowds gather to watch him. Sometimes, even people he has scared before come back to watch. The Bushman usually works near the western end of the Wharf. This is around Jefferson and Hyde Streets.

David Johnson used to work with another Bushman, Gregory Jacobs. Sometimes they worked together, and sometimes they were rivals. Gregory Jacobs passed away in 2014.

People often watch Johnson from across the street. They enjoy seeing him entertain others. Johnson has said that in a "good year," he can earn about $60,000. At one point, he even had a bodyguard. This person helped protect him from people who weren't amused. The bodyguard also helped distract his targets. They would also warn him if elderly people were approaching so he wouldn't scare them.

The police have received some complaints about the Bushman. Merchants at Fisherman's Wharf have also tried to stop him. In 2004, he faced some legal issues. However, a jury decided he was not guilty. Later, other complaints against him were dropped.

Even though he used the bush as a prop, Johnson didn't call himself "The Bushman" until the mid-1990s. A family, John and Alison Nowakowski, started calling him that. The name stuck, and Johnson officially adopted it for his street performances.

The Two Bushmen

From the 1990s until 2014, there were two World Famous Bushmen at Fisherman's Wharf. These were David Johnson and Gregory Jacobs. They sometimes worked together and sometimes performed separately. Both claimed to have started the act first.

Initially, Johnson and Jacobs worked as a team. Johnson was the performer, and Jacobs would talk to the crowd and collect money.

An article from SFSU's Xpress Magazine in 2009 explained this. It said many people didn't know there were two Bushmen. It suggested Gregory Jacobs first thought of the idea. He then asked David Johnson to join him. They became good friends while working together. Johnson's deep voice helped scare people. Jacobs would tell jokes and entertain the audience. He also collected tips. The article mentioned that after about fifteen years, they became enemies. Jacobs accused Johnson of taking their money. Jacobs tried to avoid Johnson by not working in the same place or at the same time.

However, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper wrote an article in 1999. This article suggested Johnson was the original Bushman. It said Jacobs joined him in the 1990s. This article made the Bushman act famous across the United States. It reported that Jacobs joined Johnson as a bodyguard and to help with the act. Jacobs was quoted saying, "'I look after him,' says Gregory Jacobs, who recently joined the act as a full partner. 'I watch his back.'"

Gregory Jacobs was also featured in a video called "Act (Diogenes)" by artist Whitney Lynn. A short film called The Bush Man is also about him. Gregory Jacobs passed away on February 23, 2014. He was 60 years old and died from heart failure. David Johnson continued his act until 2019.

See also

• Busking (U.S. case law)
• Frank Chu
• Emperor Norton