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Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Image 2 of 8 'Bushman' Gregory Jacobs is seen at Fisherman's Wharf in a 2008 file photo. Jacobs died this week at age 60. 'Bushman' Gregory Jacobs is seen at Fisherman's Wharf in a 2008 file photo. Jacobs died this week at age 60. Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Image 3 of 8 'Bushman' Gregory Jacobs is seen at Fisherman's Wharf in a 2008 file photo. Jacobs died this week at age 60. 'Bushman' Gregory Jacobs is seen at Fisherman's Wharf in a 2008 file photo. Jacobs died this week at age 60. Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Image 4 of 8 The Bushman scares tourists from behind a bush on a busy Jefferson Street sidewalk in Fisherman's Wharf on August 19, 2008. The Bushman scares tourists from behind a bush on a busy Jefferson Street sidewalk in Fisherman's Wharf on August 19, 2008. Photo: Michael Maloney / The Chronicle Image 5 of 8 Image 6 of 8 Sandy McNeill was walking near Fisherman's Wharf when a low death rattling howl from behind an unassuming trash can sent him into a screaming fit. Others, aware of the Bushman's presence couldn't help but laugh as yet another innocent sole had been taken for a leafy ride by Bushman Gregory Jacobs. less Sandy McNeill was walking near Fisherman's Wharf when a low death rattling howl from behind an unassuming trash can sent him into a screaming fit. Others, aware of the Bushman's presence couldn't help but ... more Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Image 7 of 8 'Bushman' Gregory Jacobs is seen at Fisherman's Wharf in a 2008 file photo. Jacobs died this week at age 60. 'Bushman' Gregory Jacobs is seen at Fisherman's Wharf in a 2008 file photo. Jacobs died this week at age 60. Photo: Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Image 8 of 8 Bushman, an S.F. tourist icon, dies 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

If you’ve been to Fisherman’s Wharf, chances are you know Gregory Jacobs.

For years, the street performer better known as “Bushman” hid silently behind a prop of eucalyptus branches and popped out behind unsuspecting tourists, eliciting screams from his victims and cheers from the small crowds that would gather to watch him.

Jacobs died on Sunday. He was 60. Family members said he had been suffering from heart problems.

Jacobs got into the business of spooking passers-by through his friend and mentor David Johnson, the original Bushman. Jacobs joined Johnson in the late ‘90s. (Johnson still performs the routine.)

The two commonly worked as a team, one of them distracting tourists to ensure a genuine scare and then pooling the tips they collected from onlookers — and often their victims.

“Hey,” Jacobs would say, “the Bushman got you fair and square! Pay the man!”

The shaken victim commonly put some coins or bills in a jar then lingered around to watch the next person fall prey to a scare.

The two also performed separately.

Their tactics haven’t always been well received. Marina merchants sometimes chased away the performers, saying it wasn’t nice to spook people. The district attorney’s office even filed a lawsuit against the original Bushman, though it was eventually dropped.

Before taking to street performance, Jacobs was a short-order cook. Family and friends also remember him as a mason, a champion long-jumper and a father of four.

He was born and raised in Arkansas, according to his family, and moved to the Bay Area in the 1980s.

Services for Jacobs will be private.