Bumpy Johnson

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African-American mobster (1905–1968)

title: "Bumpy Johnson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1905-births", "1968-deaths", "african-american-gangsters", "american-drug-traffickers", "american-crime-bosses", "american-bootleggers", "burials-at-woodlawn-cemetery-(bronx,-new-york)", "criminals-from-south-carolina", "criminals-from-manhattan", "genovese-crime-family", "inmates-of-alcatraz-federal-penitentiary", "gangsters-from-new-york-city", "people-from-charleston,-south-carolina", "people-from-harlem", "american-gangsters-of-the-interwar-period"] description: "African-American mobster (1905–1968)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumpy_Johnson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary African-American mobster (1905–1968) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Criminal"]

Field	Value
image	[[File:BumpyJohnsonSmaller.jpg
caption	Johnson in USP Leavenworth, 1954
birth_name	Ellsworth Raymond Johnson
birth_date
birth_place	Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
death_date
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
children	2
::

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 lynch mob, his parents mortgaged their tiny home to raise money to send Willie up north to live with relatives. Johnson's nickname "Bumpy" is derived from a bump on the back of his head.

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.

Career

Johnson became an associate and enforcer for numbers queen Madame Stephanie St. Clair. 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 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.

In 1952, Johnson's activities were reported in the celebrity people section of Jet. That same year, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a drug conspiracy conviction related to heroin. Two years later, Jet reported in its crime section that Johnson began his sentence after losing an appeal. 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.

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 at a police station in Harlem by refusing to leave as a protest against police surveillance of black neighborhoods. He was charged with "refusal to leave a police station" but was acquitted by a judge.

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 hominy grits, when he fell over clutching his chest. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City.

Personal life

Bumpy Johnson married Mayme Hatcher in October 1948, six months after their first meeting. 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.

In popular culture

Film

In the 1971 film Shaft and its 1973 sequel Shaft's Big Score!, Moses Gunn portrays "Bumpy Jonas," a character based upon Johnson.
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.
In the 1979 film Escape from Alcatraz, Paul Benjamin plays a character based on Bumpy Johnson, "English".
In the 1984 film The Cotton Club, Laurence Fishburne plays a character based on Bumpy Johnson, "Bumpy Rhodes".
In the 1997 film Hoodlum, Johnson is again portrayed by Fishburne.
In the 2007 film American Gangster, Clarence Williams III plays Bumpy Johnson but is uncredited.

Television

In an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, it is reported that Johnson allegedly helped the 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 District.
Johnson (played by Forest Whitaker) is the main character of the Epix/MGM+ crime drama series Godfather of Harlem.

Music

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 2022 Central Cee EP No More Leaks includes a track titled "Bumpy Johnson".

References

Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson
Tyler, Gus. (1967). "Organized crime in America: a book of readings". [[University of Michigan Press]].
"Bumpy Johnson".
(2007). "Queenie and Bumpy". crimelibrary.
Watson, Elwood. (February 13, 2008). "Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson (1906-1968)".
(1952). "People".
(May 8, 2022). "The Fascinating Story Of Mob Boss Bumpy Johnson".
(September 26, 2019). "The True Story Behind Godfather of Harlem".
(January 7, 1954). "Crime".
[https://www.archives.gov/pacific/archives/san-francisco/finding-aids/alcatraz-numeric.html#d] {{webarchive. link. (December 13, 2010)
John Howard Johnson. (1980). "Fact Not fiction in Harlem". Northern Type Printing, Inc.
"'Bumpy' Johnson, Gangster born".
(November 13, 2017). "[Video] Mayme Hatcher Johnson: Wife of Notorious Harlem Gangster Ellsworth".
"Mayme Hatcher Johnson, Author and Widow of Harlem Gangster Bumpy Johnson, dead at 94".
Queenan, Joe. (November 17, 2007). "Joe Queenan on 'Bumpy' Johnson, the most feared criminal in 1930s Harlem".
"Bumpy Johnson Profile - Famous Bookmaker and Mob Boss from New York City". www.gamblingsites.org.
Denene Millner. (August 24, 1997). "FROM HARLEM TO 'HOODLUM' MEET THE BLACK MOBSTER WHOSE 'BUMPY' LIFE OF CRIME IS NOW A NEW MOVIE". [[Daily News (New York).
"Ellsworth Raymond 'Bumpy' Johnson - On this day...".
Hunter, Stephen. (August 27, 1997). "'HOODLUM' AIMS HIGH IF NOT ALWAYS TRUE". [[The Washington Post]].
"Clarence Williams III {{!}} Actor".
"Alcatraz Escape - Unsolved Mysteries".
Petski, Denise. (April 25, 2018). "Forest Whitaker To Topline Straight-To-Series Crime Drama At Epix". Deadline.
(September 9, 2019). "TV Review: 'Godfather of Harlem'".
"Central Cee Drops Surprise 'No More Leaks' EP, Leads With "One Up" Video".

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