As Johnson grew older, his parents worried a… 1954. Family Life. [9], Johnson was arrested more than 40 times and served two prison terms for narcotics-related charges. His wife died in May 2009 at the age of 94. He ruled the neighborhood and dispatched any who dared challenge him in brutal fashion. [7] Two years later, Jet reported in its crime section that Johnson began his sentence after losing an appeal. Public DomainBumpy Johnson’s mugshot at Alcatraz. Update 05.03.09 - Mayme Hatcher Johnson, author, and widow of Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, dead at 94. And being Bumpy's girl was a title of rare prestige. He … Rollins remained on the floor, his face and body badly gashed, and one of his eyeballs hanging from the socket by ligaments. His criminal career spanned three decades from the early 1930's until his death in 1968. Unconfirmed reports allege that he used his mob connections to help the escapees secure a boat to San Francisco. Created by Chris Brancato, Paul Eckstein. Margaret Johnson is known as the granddaughter of Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson and his wife, the late Mayme Johnson. Lucas and Johnson actually had a falling out before he was sent to Alcatraz. Schultz was ultimately killed by orders from Lucky Luciano, the infamous head of the Italian Mafia in New York. He was one of the first African Americans of his era to become a millionaire, albeit through criminal activities. For more than 30 years, Bumpy Johnson ruled over Harlem as one of New York City’s most revered — and feared — crime bosses. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. Gangster William Hewett started to notice him. Only five years after being released from the infamous prison — and ruling Harlem once more after more than a decade away — Bumpy Johnson died of a heart attack during the early hours of July 7, 1968. Bumpy Johnson – Mob Boss & Bookmaker. Johnson was under a federal indictment for drug conspiracy when he died of congestive heart failure on July 7, 1968, at the age of 62. During another confrontation, Johnson saw Rollins in a dinner club and pounced on him with a blade, quickly leaving his eyeball dangling from its socket before he returned to his table and proclaimed that he suddenly had a craving for spaghetti and meatballs. As his wife noted, he was known to lecture younger generations about studying academics instead of crime — although he “always maintained a sense of humor about his brushes with the law.”, “If you wanted to do anything in Harlem, anything at all, you’d better stop and see Bumpy because he ran the place.”. There is some disagreement over how close Lucas was to Johnson. Afraid of a possible lynch mob, his parents mortgaged their tiny home to raise money to send Willie up north to live with relatives. He was married to Mayme Hatcher Johnson. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Ellsworth Raymond Johnson, better known as Bumpy Johnson, was an American mob boss and book maker in the Harlem section of New York City. Johnson dropped out of high school and began working unruly jobs. Nevertheless, in recent decades, Johnson’s reputation has started to reach more people thanks to film and television. Texas Gun Store Sells Rifles At Half-Price For 'Back-To-School' Sale, Before There Was The Incredible Hulk, There Was Cú Chulainn: The Superhuman Of Irish Myth, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Records of the Bureau of Prisons/Wikimedia Commons. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. The younger gangster was not Johnson’s driver for more than a decade, and he was not present at the crime lord’s death. A TV prequel to the 2007 film, 'American Gangster', which centered on the criminal enterprise of Frank Lucas. Because of his bumpy head, thick Southern accent, and short stature, Johnson was immediately picked on by local children. And free he was — for a few years, at least. [6] That same year, Johnson was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a drug conspiracy conviction related to heroin. Fearing a reprisal, Johnson’s parents moved most of their seven children to Harlem, a haven for the black community in the early 20th century. She was impressed by his intelligence and the two quickly became fast friends despite their 20-year age difference (though some biographers peg her as being only 10 years his senior). These leaders included Representative Adam Clayton Powell and Johnson’s old friend Malcolm X. Johnson and Malcolm X had been friends since the 1940s, when the latter was still a street hustler. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson (October 31, 1905 – July 7, 1968) was an American drug trafficker in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. [3], Johnson was an associate of numbers queen Madame Stephanie St. He was taken, by ambulance, to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead. However, he also had a soft side. “It wasn’t a perfect solution, and not everyone was happy, but at the same time the people of Harlem realized Bumpy had ended the war with no further losses, and had negotiated a peace with honor… And they realized that for the first time a black man had stood up to the white mob instead of just bowing down and going along to get along.”. He pulled out a knife and jumped on Rollins, and the two men rolled around on the floor for a few moments before Bumpy stood up and straightened his tie. Most famously, perhaps, is the crime boss’s appearance in American Gangster — a film that Mayme Johnson refused to see. She was the leader of a local gang, the 40 Thieves, and was also a key investor in the numbers rackets. Check with Bumpy first.”. Mayme Hatcher Johnson told of her life with the infamous hoodlum in her book "Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson," published last year. Upon his return to New York City in 1963 after serving time in Alcatraz, Johnson was met with an impromptu parade. He was a respected friend of Lucky Luciano. He was also a husband and a father and a doting grandfather. With Forest Whitaker, Lucy Fry, Nigel Thatch, Ilfenesh Hadera. Amy Vanderbilt, the syndicated columnist on etiquette, fell or jumped to her death last night from a second‐story window of her residence at 438 East 87th Street, the police said. I’m glad, at 93, to do my part.”. Laurence Fishburne played a Johnson-inspired character in The Cotton Club, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and Bumpy Johnson himself in Hoodlum, “a goofy, historically suspect biopic in which the male lead delivered an even more inert performance,” according to writer Joe Queenan. But Bumpy Johnson’s day in the limelight may be upon us. [11] Johnson had two daughters, Ruthie and Elease, one of whom is from another relationship. When he was 10, his older brother, Willie, was ac­cused of killing a white man. However, Johnson was also known as a gentlemen who was always quick to help out fellow Harlem residents. Probably because he was a powerful black man ruling an entire neighborhood of New York City during the mid-1900s. And if anyone didn’t come see Bumpy first, they paid the price. is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". I could tell by looking at him that he was a lot different from the people I saw in the streets.”. When Byrd arrived, Lucas cradled Bumpy in his arms, and Johnson briefly opened his eyes and smiled, then fell into unconsciousness. [1] Friend Frank Lucas claims to have been present (yet this has been refuted), and someone ran down the street to the Rhythm Club to get his childhood friend, Junie Byrd. They were married in October 1948. Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson was a notorious gangster who operated one of the largest numbers rackets headquartered in Harlem, NY. Johnson married Mayme Hatcher just six months from their first time meeting each other. When he was 10, his older brother Willie was accused of killing a white man. But once he was back on the streets of Harlem, he met Stephanie St. Clair. Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson was the undisputed king of the Harlem underworld from the '30s to the '60s. In fact, the Harlem Godfather was eight years into a prison sentence in Alcatraz on June 11, 1962, when Frank Morris and Clarence and John Anglin made the only successful escape from the institution. 1117, and was released in 1963 on parole. The fight resulted in more than 40 murders and several kidnappings. He was a stick up man, a burglar, a pimp, a drug dealer, a numbers runner, a bookmaker, a hood and a thug. Bumpy Johnson returned to Harlem following his release in 1963. Her son, Anthony Hatcher Johnson, posted a notice of her death on Facebook. Associated With. He was the conduit between Harlem and the Genovese Crime Family. In December 1965, Johnson staged a sit-down strike in a police station, refusing to leave, as a protest against their continued surveillance. Bumpy Johnson is well known as the Godfather of Harlem, and he also inspired the TV series of the same name. Of this amount, the top 10 wealthiest people in … Once there, Johnson moved in with his sister. ... Yellow Brick Roads, which provides a safe haven for children … Perhaps few paid that price as dearly as local rival Ulysses Rollins. He was charged with "refusal to leave a police station" but was acquitted by a judge.[10]. So, despite his power and influence, why has the “Godfather of Harlem” stayed out of the national public consciousness in ways that other infamous gangsters have not? Though is real name is Ellsworth, a bump on the back of his head led to him receiving the nickname "Bumpy". Due to a slight deformation of his skull, he was given the nickname “Bumpy.”. Bumpy Johnson’s criminal career soon flourished further as he graduated to armed robbery, extortion, and pimping. Remo Nassi/Wikimedia CommonsCharles “Lucky” Luciano, the man who once ruled over New York City’s Five Families. Bumpy Johnson is part of G.I. Charles “Lucky” Luciano, the man who once ruled over New York City’s Five Families. Johnson and St. Clair aimed to start a war against New York mob boss Dutch Schultz. Discover what happened on this day. [4] He became St Clair's principal lieutenant in the 1930s. Bumpy Johnson is also known as the Godfather of Harlem, and he inspired the TV series of the same name. Margaret Johnson, the granddaughter of larger-than-life Harlem gangster Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson who earned her own street stripes when she shot a mugger trying to rob her in her wheelchair, died Monday. [2] As Johnson grew older, his parents worried about his short temper and insolence towards whites, and in 1919 he was sent to live with his older sister Mabel in Harlem. [8] He served the majority of that sentence at Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay, California as inmate No. According to her, Denzel Washington’s Frank Lucas was more fiction than fact.
Black Pearl Wooden Model Kit Uk, Diy Flower Canvas Painting, What Do Leopard Geckos Teeth Look Like, Lincoln Electric Ranger 225, Hero Guide Pso2 Reddit, White Bullnose Tile, 3m Window Weld Dry Time, Wavedash Dummo Loop,