View source for Bumpy Johnson

{{short description|African-American mobster (1905–1968)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox Criminal
|image = [[File:BumpyJohnsonSmaller.jpg|180px]]
|caption = Johnson in [[United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth|USP Leavenworth]], 1954
|birth_name = Ellsworth Raymond Johnson
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1905|10|31}}
|birth_place = [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]], [[South Carolina]], U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1968|7|7|1905|10|31}}
|death_place = New York City, U.S.
|resting_place = [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)]]
|conviction = Drug conspiracy (1952)
|penalty = 15 years' imprisonment
|occupation = [[Crime boss]], [[drug trafficker]]
|spouse = {{marriage|Mayme Hatcher|1948}} 
|children =2
}}
'''Ellsworth Raymond''' "'''Bumpy'''" '''Johnson''' (October 31, 1905 – July 7, 1968) was an American crime boss in the [[Harlem]] neighborhood of [[New York City]].

==Early life==
Ellsworth Raymond "Bumpy" Johnson was born in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], on October 31, 1905, to Margaret Moultrie and William Johnson. When he was 10, his older brother Willie was accused of killing a white man. Afraid of a possible [[Lynching|lynch mob]], his parents mortgaged their tiny home to raise money to send Willie up north to live with relatives.<ref name="ReferenceA">Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson</ref> Johnson's nickname "Bumpy" is derived from a bump on the back of his head.<ref>{{cite book |title=Organized crime in America: a book of readings|last=Tyler|first=Gus |author-link=Gus Tyler |year=1967 |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |location=[[Ann Arbor, Michigan]] |oclc= 247980358|page=242 |isbn=978-0-472-06127-3 |orig-year= 1962 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CZDaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+bump+on+the+back+of+his+head+gave+him+his+nickname%22 |access-date=March 27, 2011}}</ref>

As Johnson grew older, his parents worried about his short temper and insolence towards white people, and in 1919, he was sent to live with his older sister Mabel in [[Harlem]]. Johnson dropped out of high school and began working in casual jobs. Gangster William Hewett noticed Johnson, who began working for him and his life of crime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/bumpy-johnson|title=Bumpy Johnson|website=Biography|language=en-us|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref>

==Career==
Johnson became an associate and enforcer for [[Numbers game|numbers]] queen [[Stephanie St. Clair|Madame Stephanie St. Clair]].<ref name="crimelibrary">{{cite web|year=2007 |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/harlem_gangs/5.html |title=Queenie and Bumpy |publisher=crimelibrary |access-date=April 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417012731/http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/harlem_gangs/5.html |archive-date=April 17, 2008 }}</ref> In the 1930s, he quickly climbed the ranks to become her most trusted soldier. St. Clair incited a war with her rival, mob boss [[Dutch Schultz]], for control of Harlem's rackets. The war resulted in more than 40 murders and several kidnappings and ended with St. Clair's arrest and imprisonment. Johnson, however, struck a deal with the Mafia after Schultz's 1935 murder through which he quickly built up his own organization in Harlem in exchange for favorable business deals.<ref>{{cite web |last=Watson |first=Elwood |date=February 13, 2008 |title=Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson (1906-1968) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/johnson-ellsworth-bumpy-1906-1968/ |access-date=April 8, 2020 |website=[[Blackpast.org]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1952, Johnson's activities were reported in the celebrity people section of ''[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |year=1952 |title=People |magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]}}</ref> That same year, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a drug conspiracy conviction related to [[heroin]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Fascinating Story Of Mob Boss Bumpy Johnson |url=https://www.casino.org/blog/bumpy-johnson/ |website=Casino.org |date=May 8, 2022 |access-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/5679371/godfather-of-harlem-true-story/ |title=The True Story Behind Godfather of Harlem |magazine=Time |date=September 26, 2019}}</ref> Two years later, ''Jet'' reported in its crime section that Johnson began his sentence after losing an [[appeal]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 7, 1954|title=Crime |magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]] |volume=5 |issn=0021-5996|issue=9 |page=49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=378DAAAAMBAJ&q=Ellsworth+Johnson+%22bumpy%22&pg=PA49 |access-date= March 27, 2011 }}</ref> He served the majority of that sentence at [[Alcatraz Prison]] in [[San Francisco Bay, California]] as inmate No. 1117, and was released in 1963 on parole.<ref>[https://www.archives.gov/pacific/archives/san-francisco/finding-aids/alcatraz-numeric.html#d] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213131055/http://www.archives.gov/pacific/archives/san-francisco/finding-aids/alcatraz-numeric.html#d|date=December 13, 2010}}</ref>

Johnson was arrested more than 40 times and served two prison terms for narcotics-related charges. In December 1965, Johnson staged a [[sit-down strike]] in a police station by refusing to leave as a protest against continued police surveillance of black neighborhoods. He was charged with "refusal to leave a police station" but was [[acquittal|acquitted]] by a judge.<ref name="book_1980">{{Cite book | last = John Howard Johnson| title = Fact Not fiction in Harlem|year= 1980 | publisher = Northern Type Printing, Inc | asin= B00072X07G |page= 119}}'''p.103+'''</ref>

==Death==
Johnson was under a federal indictment for drug conspiracy when he died of a heart attack on July 7, 1968, at the age of 62. He was at Wells Restaurant in Harlem shortly before 2 a.m., and the waitress had just served him coffee, a chicken leg, and [[grits|hominy grits]], when he fell over clutching his chest.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He is buried in [[Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx)|Woodlawn Cemetery]] in The [[The Bronx|Bronx]], New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Bumpy' Johnson, Gangster born |url=https://aaregistry.org/story/bumpy-johnson-born/#:~:text=He%20was%20taken%20by%20ambulance,The%20Bronx,%20New%20York%20City. |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=African American Registry |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Bumpy Johnson married Mayme Hatcher in October 1948, six months after their first meeting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blackthen.com/video-mayme-hatcher-johnson-wife-notorious-harlem-gangster-ellsworth-bumpy-johnson/|title=[Video] Mayme Hatcher Johnson: Wife of Notorious Harlem Gangster Ellsworth|date=November 13, 2017|website=Black Then|language=en-US|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> Johnson had two daughters, Ruthie and Elease, the latter of whom was from another relationship. His wife died in May 2009, at the age of 94.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackradionetwork.com/mayme_hatcher_johnson_author_and_widow_of_harlem_gangster_bumpy_johnson_dead_at_94|title=Mayme Hatcher Johnson, Author and Widow of Harlem Gangster Bumpy Johnson, dead at 94|website=BlackRadioNetwork|access-date=April 8, 2020|archive-date=April 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408012706/https://www.blackradionetwork.com/mayme_hatcher_johnson_author_and_widow_of_harlem_gangster_bumpy_johnson_dead_at_94|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
===Film===
* In the 1971 film ''[[Shaft (1971 film)|Shaft]]'' and its 1973 sequel ''[[Shaft's Big Score!]]'', [[Moses Gunn]] portrays "Bumpy Jonas," a character based upon Johnson.<ref name="Queenan">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/nov/17/5|title=Joe Queenan on 'Bumpy' Johnson, the most feared criminal in 1930s Harlem |first=Joe |last=Queenan|date=November 17, 2007|website=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>
* In the 1972 film ''[[Come Back, Charleston Blue]]'', the title character is loosely based on Bumpy Johnson, a criminal who is looked upon as a positive role model among the people.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamblingsites.org/biographies/bumpy-johnson/|title=Bumpy Johnson Profile - Famous Bookmaker and Mob Boss from New York City |publisher=www.gamblingsites.org}}</ref>
* In the 1979 film ''[[Escape from Alcatraz (film)|Escape from Alcatraz]]'', [[Paul Benjamin]] plays a character based on Bumpy Johnson, "English".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/harlem-hoodlum-meet-black-mobster-bumpy-life-crime-new-movie-article-1.782536|title=FROM HARLEM TO 'HOODLUM' MEET THE BLACK MOBSTER WHOSE 'BUMPY' LIFE OF CRIME IS NOW A NEW MOVIE|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York |author=Denene Millner |date=August 24, 1997|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dayshistory.wordpress.com/tag/ellsworth-raymond-bumpy-johnson/|title=Ellsworth Raymond 'Bumpy' Johnson - On this day...|website=dayshistory.wordpress.com|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>
* In the 1984 film ''[[The Cotton Club (film)|The Cotton Club]]'', [[Laurence Fishburne]] plays a character based on Bumpy Johnson, "Bumpy Rhodes".<ref name="WaPo">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/08/27/hoodlum-aims-high-if-not-always-true/823ce9f0-8e8b-496f-979f-9d2f193cf8ad/ |title='HOODLUM' AIMS HIGH IF NOT ALWAYS TRUE |first=Stephen |last=Hunter |date=August 27, 1997 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Queenan"/>
* In the 1997 film ''[[Hoodlum (film)|Hoodlum]]'', Johnson is again portrayed by Fishburne.<ref name="WaPo"/><ref name="Queenan"/>
* In the 1999 film ''[[Life (1999 film)|Life]]'', [[Rick James]] plays a Harlem gangster, "Spanky Johnson," who was loosely inspired by Bumpy Johnson.
* In the 2007 film ''[[American Gangster (film)|American Gangster]]'', Johnson is  portrayed by [[Clarence Williams III]].

===Television===
* In an episode of ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'', it is reported that Johnson allegedly helped the [[June 1962 Alcatraz escape|three escapees]] of [[Alcatraz]] get to the shores of [[San Francisco]]. It is said that he arranged for a boat to pick the three men up out of the bay. The boat then dropped the escapees off at Pier 13 in San Francisco's [[Hunters Point, San Francisco, California|Hunters Point]] District.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unsolved.com/gallery/alcatraz-escape/|title=Alcatraz Escape - Unsolved Mysteries|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref>
* In the second episode of the third season of [[HBO]]'s ''[[The Wire]]'', "[[All Due Respect (The Wire)|All Due Respect]]", three low-level gangsters discuss an incident when Johnson allegedly attacked a police station single-handedly.
* In the 2018 [[Netflix]] documentary series ''[[Drug Lords]]'', Johnson was featured in the third episode of the first season.
* Johnson (played by [[Forest Whitaker]]) is the main character of the 2019-2025 [[Epix]]/[[MGM+]] crime drama series ''[[Godfather of Harlem]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Petski |first=Denise |url=https://deadline.com/2018/04/forest-whitaker-star-straight-to-series-crime-drama-epix-1202376800/ |title=Forest Whitaker To Topline Straight-To-Series Crime Drama At Epix |date=April 25, 2018 |publisher=Deadline |access-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref><ref name="DAddario-20190909">{{cite web |last1=D'Addario |first1=Daniel |title=TV Review: 'Godfather of Harlem' |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/reviews/godfather-of-harlem-forest-whitaker-1203316597/ |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=December 5, 2019 |language=en |date=September 9, 2019}}</ref>

===Music===
* [[Prodigy (rapper)|Prodigy]] titled his first full release after his release from prison in 2011 ''[[The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP]]'', which was followed by ''[[The Bumpy Johnson Album]]''.
* The 2002 [[Central Cee]] EP ''[[No More Leaks]]'' includes a track titled "Bumpy Johnson".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Central Cee Drops Surprise 'No More Leaks' EP, Leads With "One Up" Video |url=https://www.complex.com/music/central-cee-no-more-leaks |access-date=October 16, 2022 |website=Complex |language=en}}</ref>

===Gaming===
* The character of Sammy Robinson in ''[[Mafia III]]'' was partially inspired by Ellsworth Johnson. The kingpin who protagonist Lincoln Clay becomes is also largely inspired by Bumpy Johnson, along with people like [[Frank Lucas]] and [[Nicky Barnes]].

==See also==
* [[Frank Lucas]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0967602831 Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson - by Mayme Hatcher Johnson]
* {{Find a Grave|22790696}}
* Infinite MagaZine {{YouTube|Cv0cR81fe4I|Harlem Godfather Bumpy Johnson pt.1}} {{YouTube|I8fbMo5Hu2M|Harlem Godfather pt.2}} Documentary
* {{cite book | last = John Howard Johnson| title = Fact not fiction in Harlem|edition= 1980 | publisher = Northern Type Printing, Inc | asin= B00072X07G|page= 119}}
* {{cite book | last = Mayme Hatcher Johnson| title = Harlem Godfather: The Rap on my Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson| year = 2008|edition= when | publisher = Oshun Publishing Company, Inc.; First edition (February 29, 2008)| isbn= 978-0-9676028-3-7 |page= 248}}

{{Genovese crime family}}
{{Organized crime groups in New York City}}
{{prohibition}}
{{American Mafia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Bumpy}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American gangsters]]
[[Category:American drug traffickers]]
[[Category:American crime bosses]]
[[Category:American bootleggers]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)]]
[[Category:Criminals from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Criminals from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Genovese crime family]]
[[Category:Inmates of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary]]
[[Category:Gangsters from New York City]]
[[Category:People from Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Harlem]]
[[Category:American gangsters of the interwar period]]