Bumpy Johnson Alcatraz

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 is famous for rising from an enforcer under Stephanie Saint Clair, to
taking over her operations and becoming the main black man whom the Italian
mafia would deal with.

CHECK MY CHANNEL FOR BETTER AUDIO VERSION. I RE UPLOADED AGAIN. Error at:27 Detroit Red.This is a rare friendship that you can only find in various books. Without question, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson was once the baddest cat in Harlem. He ran the bustling numbers racket north of 96th St. Like he was the black godfather of the Harlem underworld from.

Bumpy became so legendary that, despite passing away in 1968, he’s depicted
in several modern movies, TV shows, and songs.

Let’s continue discussing this famed gangster by looking at his early life,
enforcer days, book making, and dealings with the Italian mafia, pop culture
references, and a modern controversy involving Frank Lucas.

Bumpy Johnson’s Early Life

Although Johnson became famous in New York, his life began over 750 miles away
in Charleston, South Carolina.

Born on October 31, 1905, Johnson grew up during the Segregation Era. It’s
during these early days that he earned the nickname Bumpy after hitting his head
and developing a large bump.

Times were tough for Ellsworth and his brother, Willie, since blacks faced
racism and oppression, especially in the Deep South.

When Bumpy was 10, Willie was accused of killing a white man. His parents
were worried that a lynch mob would kill him before a proper trial, so they sent
Willie up north to live with relatives.

Bumpy Johnson Alcatraz

Bumpy wasn’t far behind because his parents were afraid that he, too, would
eventually be persecuted due to his temper and insolence towards whites.

In 1919, Johnson was sent to live with his sister, Mabel, in Harlem – one of
the biggest urban areas that blacks poured into to fill labor shortages left by
World War I.

From Selling Newspapers to Prison

Arriving in Harlem as a young teenager, Johnson sold newspapers and swept
floors to make ends meet.

He also began shooting dice and playing pool for money, which marked
Johnson’s introduction to gambling.

Bumpy also met friends and future criminal associates in Natt Pettigrew and
Bub Hewlett. The latter became one of Johnson’s early partners as they charged
local stores protection money in typical mafia style.

Over the next decade, Bumpy would spend much of his life behind bars for a
number of crimes. But his life would take a huge turn by the age of 32, when he
started working for Stephanie St. Clair.

The Queen of Numbers

Known as the Madame, or Queen of Numbers, St. Clair made her early fortune by
selling controlled drugs.

She later got into the numbers game, which is an illegal lottery that was
especially popular in ghettos during the early and mid-1900s.

The numbers game involves bettors trying to match three digits that will be
drawn randomly the following day. The operation was very lucrative for St.
Clair, and she made $20,000 per year in the 1920s, approx. $285k today.

This is key to Johnson because he would one day take over St. Clair’s
operations and assume control of the lucrative numbers game.

But in the beginning, he was brought aboard to provide protection against the
notorious gangster Dutch Shultz – a.k.a. the Beer Baron of the Bronx.

Johnson, St. Clair Refuse to Yield to Schultz

When the Prohibition Era ended in the early 1930s, Jewish and Italian
American mobs saw their bootlegging profits disappear. This caused some of them
to move into the Harlem gambling scene and demand protection money from those
running numbers games.

Schultz was the first and most ruthless gangster to move into Harlem, beating
and / or killing those who wouldn’t pay his protection fees.

While most numbers game operators yielded to the German Jewish American
mobster, St. Clair and Bumpy were one of the few Harlem based gangs to refuse.

This sparked a bloody war, where some of St. Clair’s allies were murdered by
Schultz’s mob. She complained about police corruption aiding Schultz to the New
York Police Department, but to no avail.

By 1935, after being weakened by Schultz’s attacks, St. Clair made desperate
moves like attacking storefronts of the businesses that Schultz was supposed to
protect. She also tipped police off to his activities, which resulted in the
arrest of over a dozen of his men and the seizure of $12 million, or $216
million today.

Bumpy Johnson Alcatraz

St. Clair and Johnson received a stroke of luck when Luciano had Schultz
assassinated after the latter went against his orders and tried to kill U.S.
Attorney Thomas Dewey.

Rather than maintaining the hostility that Schultz had towards St. Clair and
Bumpy, Luciano was interested in working with them.

Bumpy Johnson Takes Over Harlem Numbers Game

After struggling with Schultz for years, St. Clair moved away from her
illegal operations and handed everything over to Bumpy. Not only was he her
loyal enforcer, but the two were involved in a relationship at the time.

Johnson’s first order of business was to negotiate a deal with Luciano. They
struck a pact where numbers operators would remain independent as long as they
participated in the Italian mafia’s central gambling pool and paid tributes.

The deal instantly increased Johnson’s respect in Harlem because prior to
him, black men had little success negotiating with the mafia.

Bumpy would continue running St. Clair’s lottery operation while also
expanding into the illegal narcotics trade. The gang grew under his command and
he eventually became the kingpin of Harlem.

Whether it was the Italian mafia or smaller gangs wanting to do illegal
business in Harlem, everybody now had to come through Johnson first.

Becoming a Celebrity & Marriage

With his numbers game, reputation, and net worth growing, Johnson became
increasingly popular throughout Harlem.

This led to friendships with other famous Harlemites, including Cab Calloway,
Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Bojangles Robinson, and Sugar Ray Robinson.

In 1948, he met 34 year old Mayme Hatcher at Frasier’s Restaurant. Bumpy
quickly fell in love with Hatcher and they got married in an impromptu civil
ceremony.

“In October that year we were driving past 116th and St. Nicholas Avenue in
his Cadillac when he suddenly turned to me and said, ‘Mayme, I think you and I
should go ahead and get married,'” recalled Hatcher. “I was stunned, but I kept
my composure. I said simply, ‘Is that right?'” -Mayme Hatcher

Being the wife of the richest gangster in Harlem not only meant enjoying the
finer things, but also dealing with rivals who loved Bumpy.

“Before long I was known as Bumpy’s girl. It was a good title to possess. It
meant I could get in anywhere I wanted to go, I was treated as queen wherever I
went, and I was showered with gifts and jewelry on a steady basis,” she
explained.

“It also meant that I was constantly accosted by other women who were in love
with Bumpy and wanted me out of the way. At first I was upset, but then I pretty
much learned to ignore them.”

Mayme remained married to Johnson until he died of a heart attack in 1968.

Bumpy Sentenced to Alcatraz Prison

In the summer of 1952, Jet, a weekly magazine aimed at African American
readers, began profiling Bumpy and his lavish lifestyle.

Unfortunately, 1952 also saw Johnson indicted for selling heroin. Bumpy
argued that he was framed, but he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Jet reported that Johnson lost his appeal and was sentenced to 15 years at
Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay.

Listed as inmate No. 1117, Bumpy’s term would last from 1954 to 63. He was
sent to Alcatraz because, with its island location, strong currents, and cold
waters, it was considered American’s most secure prison.

Despite this fact, unconfirmed reports suggest that Bumpy helped three fellow
inmates escape by arranging for a boat to pick them up once they escaped the
prison walls and reached San Francisco Bay.

This would be an incredible feat considering that, of the 36 men who tried to
escape Alcatraz, 31 were caught, shot, or drowned.

Johnson is depicted by a character named English in the 1979 Clint Eastwood
film Escape from Alcatraz.

Johnson was released from Alcatraz in 1963 and greeted with a parade upon his
return to Harlem.

In 1965, Bumpy arranged a sit down strike at a local police station to
protest their continued surveillance of his activities. Johnson was charged with
“refusal to leave a police station,” but was later acquitted.

Bumpy Johnson’s Death

By 1968, Johnson was under indictment again for drug related crimes. But he
would never go to court because he passed away due to congestive heart failure
on July 7 at age 62.

His final moments were spent in Harlem’s Wells Restaurant, where the waitress
had just brought one of his favorite meals – chicken legs, hominy grits, and
coffee.

He was clutching his chest when childhood friend Finley Hoskins ran to the
Rhythm Club to get another friend, Junie Byrd. When Byrd arrived, he held
Johnson in his arms, and Bumpy opened his eyes and smiled before going
unconscious.

He was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital and buried in the Bronx’s Woodlawn
Commentary.

Bumpy Johnson Depictions in Pop Culture

Movies

  • 1971 movie Shaft, portrayed by Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jones, a Harlem gangster
    who needs Shaft’s help in saving his kidnapped daughter.
  • 1972 movie Come Back
    Charleston Blue    , portrayed by Godfrey Cambridge as Charleston Blue, a vigilante
    who tries to help Harlem by killing criminals with a straight razor. He
    disappears after setting out to kill Dutch Schultz with his razor.
  • 1984 movie
    The Cotton Club, portrayed by Laurence Fishburne as Bumpy Rhodes, who intervenes
    based on the cruel treatment of performers at Schultz’s Cotton Club.
  • 1997 movie Hoodlum, Fishburne again plays Johnson, who is embroiled in a bloody war with
    the psychotic Schultz.
  • 2007 movie American Gangster, Clarence Williams III
    portrays Johnson, who serves as a mentor to Harlem gangster Frank Lucas. This
    film sees Bumpy die in a store during the day time, rather than in Wells
    Restaurant during the night time.

Music

  • Mentioned in the Lupe Fiasco song Failure: “I’m Bumpy Johnson I stick to the
    streets.”
  • Mentioned in the Mac Dre song Genie of the Lamp: “I’m Samuel and
    Denzel in one body and Bumpy faced Johnson, I’ll kill somebody.”
  • Mentioned in
    the Nas and Damian Marley song Leaders: “Ellsworth Bumpy Johnsons, the
    Harlemites and Garveyites, black as the credit card we swipe.”
  • Prodigy released his first full album in 2011 under the name The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP.

TV

  • An episode of Unsolved Mysteries explores the report that Bumpy helped three
    inmates escape Alcatraz and get to the shores of San Francisco. The episode
    claims that Johnson arranged for a boat to pick the three men up at San
    Francisco Bay, where it then dropped them off at Pier 13 in the city’s Hunters
    Point District.
  • An episode of HBO’s The Wire called “All Due Respect” sees Tree
    reference Bumpy right before killing Jelly over a dog fight. The men were
    talking about how a legend where Bumpy attacked a police station by himself.

Frank Lucas Controversy

Bumpy johnson wikipediaBumpy johnson movie

After seeing the release of American Gangster in 2007, Mayme Johnson took
exception to how the film misrepresented her late husband and Frank Lucas’
relationship.

Portrayed by Denzel Washington, Lucas is shown to be Bumpy’s second in
command, before Johnson dies of a heart attack in his arms.

“Frank wasn’t nothing but a flunky, and one that Bumpy never did really
trust,” said Mayme. “Bumpy would let Frank drive him around, but you’d better
believe that he was never in any important meetings or anything. He would say,
you can trust a thief quicker than a liar, because a thief steals money because
he needs money, but a liar lies for the hell of it!” -Mayme

Mayme was especially angry after hearing Lucas’ account that her husband died
in his arms, noting that he probably thought the lie would stand because it
happened back in 1968.

“Junie Byrd’s gone, Nat Pettigrew’s gone, Sonny Chance is gone, and Finley
Hoskin’s gone,” said Johnson.

“Frank would never have said any garbage like that if one of them were alive
because he’d know they’d come after him. I bet he thought I was gone, too, but
I’m not. I’m 93, and I don’t have Alzheimer’s or dementia, and I’m not senile.
Frank Lucas is a damn liar and I want the world to know it.”

Bumpy johnson movie

Mayme implied that if Lucas lied about Bumpy dying in his arms and their
overall relationship, then he probably lied about other elements of the American
Gangster story too.

Conclusion

From warring with one of the most feared mobsters of all time to helping men
escape from Alcatraz, Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson is a true legend.

His life started humbly in the deep South, but quickly changed when his
parents sent him to Harlem. It’s here where he started providing protection for
storefronts and eventually began working for Stephanie St. Clair – a.k.a. the
Queen of Numbers.

Following a bloody war with Schultz, Johnson furthered his legend by making a
deal with Lucky Luciano and taking over St. Clair’s illegal lottery.

Eventually, Bumpy became so rich and famous that he earned celebrity friends,
was profiled in magazines, and married Mayme – the love of his life.

Unfortunately, his life was also met with struggles, including being arrested
40 different times and doing three lengthy stints in prison.

Bumpy Johnson Alcatraz Escape

By 1963, he had done his last prison stint in the notorious Alcatraz prison.
He was facing more prison time while under indictment in 1968, but he passed
away before the trial.

Since the beginning of time, crime has always been sensational. Authors, filmmakers, and news reporters alike have profited off of the public’s love for thrilling crime tales. However, the man who seems to take the cake in terms of sensational crime is Bumpy Johnson. He has been at the center of a number of films and television shows… although, the extent of his story is hardly known. Yet, Bumpy Johnson was an incredible criminal, and most of his massive, flick-worthy crimes flew right under people’s noses. And during his time, his crimes were too haunting for the public to adore his chaos. From his petty-theft formative days to the murders and kidnappings of his adulthood, this is the tale of the infamous, widely-feared gangster, Bumpy Johnson.

The upbringing of Bumpy Johnson

On October 31st, 1905, Ellsworth Raymond Johnson was born in Charleston, South Carolina. In his youth, he coined the nickname “Bumpy” thanks to a large bump his forehead. With a nickname like that, he was already off to a rocky start. As a child, Bumpy seemed to quickly develop a short temper, aggressive tendencies, and a crummy attitude towards the world. And his brother’s story, coupled with the racist times, didn’t exactly support a stable upbringing.

Unfortunately, when Bumpy was just 10 years old, his brother, Willie, was accused of killing a white man in Charleston. Since South Carolina was far from progressive and lynchings weren’t out of the question, his parents feared for the safety of little Bumpy. So, they shipped Johnson off to live with his sister in Harlem. The sudden move didn’t stop him from getting in trouble, though; if anything, it contributed to the crime boss that Bumpy would become. As he developed a powerful hatred for white people and general discontent with society, Bumpy gradually began to grow into a criminal.

Bumpy’s chaotic plummet into crime

During his boyhood in Harlem, Bumpy committed plenty of disturbing, adult crimes. Whether it was thieving, pimping, or otherwise, he seemed incapable of engaging in childhood activities or getting into boyish trouble. Instead, he seemed riddled with a desire to cause extreme, detrimental chaos. Unsurprisingly, his actions almost always eventually caught up with him. He ended up in the slammer a copious amount of times. At the age of thirty, he had halved his time in the real world and in prison.

Considering the corruption of prisons, especially in the early 1900s, it’s not surprising that they did little to reform Bumpy. Instead, he continued to engage in criminal behaviors behind bars. From fighting with guards to thieving from other inmates, his criminal tendencies couldn’t be shaken. And while he developed a love for poetry and published some of his work in the Harlem Renaissance, he left prison in 1932 completely alone. He had no money, no occupation, and no direction…until Stephanie St. Clair walked into his life.

Talk about a power couple…

Truthfully, the reason that Bumpy isn’t a household name for his crimes was that he wasn’t the one in the spotlight. While he worked behind the scenes to commit many heinous crimes, he did so in a powerful woman’s shadow: Stephanie St. Clair. While Bumpy pulled off significant murders, kidnappings, and burglaries, Stephanie was the true face of terror. She was the head of a number of criminal enterprises throughout Harlem. She was incredibly empowered, resisting merging with the Mafia for the entirety of her reign. And for a crime-savvy man like Bumpy, she seemed to be his perfect match.

Bumpy Johnson Alcatraz Time

Rather than snagging a job coming out of prison, Bumpy did what he knew best: turned back to crime. He did so with the help of Stephanie, who seemed to immediately develop confidence in Bumpy. While some dispute that they were romantically involved, the nature of their personal relationship is still unclear. However, their criminal relationship quickly turned them into a powerful, widely-feared duo. And they wreaked plenty of havoc in the lives of their enemies.

Bumpy Johnson Wikipedia

When Bumpy came into Stephanie’s life, she had plenty of beef with other crime leaders. Linking up with her, Bumpy helped to wage wars against other crime bosses in the New York area, specifically Dutch Schultz. It wasn’t a bloodless battle. By the end of the feud, 40 people had been kidnapped or killed for their involvement. Bumpy orchestrated many of these murders and kidnappings behind the scenes, often committing his crimes with smooth, quiet precision. Of course, he couldn’t always evade the law…or even often. By the end of Bumpy’s life, he’d spent nearly half his life in Alcatraz, being arrested a remarkable 40 times. However, Bumpy was more than just a cold-hearted, stone-faced criminal. Despite his notorious name, he wasn’t all evil.

No, he wasn’t entirely terrible

Bumpy Johnson Alcatraz Escape

Truthfully, Bumpy’s story stemmed from a fairly tragic place. Considering he was a victim of extreme racism from an early age, it’s hard to deny that his anger was justified. However, his life of crime certainly didn’t erase his emotions. He seemed to be aware of the conditions that seemed to set him on a path of criminal activity. While his violent influence mainly stayed in bounds of Harlem, yet he tried to be more than a vicious presence in his own community. In fact, he often went out of his way to support the underdogs of Harlem and wider New York.

Bumpy Johnson Kids

With his powerful status, Bumpy Johnson often served as a sort of Robin Hood in impoverished African-American communities. He was known to deliver gifts, meals, and other essentials to these communities, including an incredible spread of turkeys on Thanksgiving. However, even those that he tried to support feared him, as the crimes he was associated with were too notorious to be ignored. As a result, even the amends that Bumpy seemed to hope to make didn’t do much to add positivity to his name. Eventually, in 1968, he died suddenly from a heart attack… though was said to have been smiling as he passed.