San Francisco street performer featured in 'The Pursuit of Happyness' dead at 64

Angel Saunders
·3 min read
street performer
street performer
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The city of San Francisco is mourning the loss of a familiar face after one of its own recently passed away. The popular street performer, known as Bucket Man, died last week.

“I’m [sad] to announce my friend, The Bucket Man, that played buckets on Market [Street] and was in [the] Will Smith movie, the Pursuit of Happyness has [overdosed] and died in his SRO,” a tweet from yesterday (March 1) read. One user interjected, saying the death occurred last week, but floods of others offered their condolences. “What? Nooooo! He was a fixture on Market Street and a local celebrity. I am so sorry for your loss,” a person wrote. Another commented, “OH NO. I passed by this guy so many times in [San Francisco] playing those buckets. Every once in a while, I would see some other dude trying to copy him, but they lacked his rhythm. There will never be another Market [Street] Bucket Man. He was part of [San Francisco’s] culture.”

Many continued to remember his joyful and soulful presence: “One of the bests [parts] about Bucket Man’s drumming was the fact that he welcomed so many [tourists] to San Francisco with a smile, and he showed those [tourists] love… Very sad… Very sad….. #SanFrancisco so many tourists around the world remember his positive music and loving smile.” Videos of the street performer passionately beating his buckets and drums can be found on YouTube as far back as 15 years ago.

According to California news station KTVU 2, the San Francisco “Bucket Man,” born Larry Hunt, died last Wednesday (Feb. 22) at the age of 64. He was a “well-known figure” who could be spotted on the city streets “rain or shine,” KTVU added. In addition to appearing in Smith’s 2006 drama, which was based on a true story, Hunt also performed on the NBC reality showcase series, “America’s Got Talent.” As of today (March 2), his cause of death has not been revealed.

See tributes to San Francisco’s Bucket Man below.

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