Who Was Bumpy Johnson, the Man Behind 'Godfather of Harlem'?
Oscar Winning actor Forest Whitaker transforms himself into Ellsworth Raymond Johnson, otherwise known as Bumpy Johnson, for his leading role in the new series Godfather of Harlem.The show follows the Harlem gangster as he is released from Alcatraz in 1963 after spending more than a decade behind bars. He and mob boss Lucky Luciano formed an alliance Johnson would control Harlem, and Luciano's crew would get a cut of the profits. "Bumpy Johnson was a legend. So it took me 18 years to develop this and curate it and just do it the right way, Smith told InsideEdition.com. "It's not a glorification of Bumpy Johnson being a gangster.