Bumpy Johnson

Bumpy Johnson (October 31, 1905 – July 7, 1968) was a Harlem associate of the Genovese crime family and drug dealer, for whom the character of Bumpy Jonas in the first two Shaft movies (Shaft and Shaft's Big Score) are based on.

He was born in South Carolina, and was targeted for lynching because he was accused of killing a white man. Worried that his temper could get him in trouble with whites, his parents moved him to Harlem (where racism was exactly the same, minus the poverty and bad conditions, so hence less chance for negative contact with white racists). He started off a runner for the Genovese crime family. When gangster Schultz started to run the other operations, Johnson had enough and worked with Lucky Luciano to have him murdered.

He was eventually arrested on drug use.