The first and only full biography on legendary Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson, who was depicted in the movies Cotton Club, Hoodlum and American Gangster
Al Capone may have ruled Chicago. Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But from the 1930s to the late 1960s, when it came to Harlem, the undisputed king of the underworld was Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson.
Bumpy was a man whose contradictions are still the root of many an argument in Harlem. But there is one thing on which both his supporters and detractors agree: In his lifetime, Bumpy was the man in Harlem.
Harlem Godfather: The Rap on My Husband, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson is the first complete biography of a man who for years was Harlem's best kept, and most cherished, secret.
There is also a full chapter on Madame Stephanie St. Clair, the infamous Harlem numbers banker who instigated the famous fight with Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz.
The book is written by Bumpy's widow, Mayme Johnson, and details not only his criminal life but also his personal life.
This book also details Bumpy's relationship with Harlem dope dealer Frank Lucas, who has called himself Bumpy's right-hand man but was—according to Mrs. Johnson—little more than a flunky.