The Real Nucky Thompson
Enoch Malachi 'Nucky' Thompson (1872-1931) was the Treasurer of Atlantic County, New Jersey from 1912 to 1921, affiliated with the US Republican Party.Thompson had immense power in the city due to his control of the casinos and boardwalk, and he used this influence to become a major bootlegger during Prohibition, becoming the boss of a criminal empire. THE PILOT EPISODE OF BOARDWALK EMPIRE WAS DIRECTED BY MARTIN SCORSESE AND. Fictional biography. Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson was born around 1870 and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the eldest child of a poor Irish Catholic family. His father Ethan was an abusive alcoholic who at one point scarred Nucky's hand with a fireplace poker, and his sister Susan died of tuberculosis. In 1931, Nucky comes across Joe Harper again. Harper reveals that his real name is Tommy Darmody, Jimmy's son and Gillian's grandson. Tommy shoots Nucky three times before being restrained by the police. As Nucky lays on the ground dying, he sees a vision of a younger version of himself swimming in the ocean and catching a coin.
Questioning the Story:
Is Margaret Schroeder based on a real person?
Like Margaret Schroeder (left), Florence Osbeck (right) was Nucky's second wife, but that's where the similarities end.
How Did Nucky Thompson Die In Real Life
Boardwalk Empire TV show, is primarily a combination of two individuals, Nucky's second wife, showgirl Florence Osbeck (pictured) who was 25 years his junior, and Mary Ill, a housewife and boardinghouse maid who fell upon hard times and requested a meeting with Nucky. Mary's husband, a part-time baker's helper, had gambled their food money away. Nucky gave Mary Ill some money and ensured her that her husband would no longer be allowed in local gambling halls. Like Margaret, Mary was also active in local politics and charitable organizations. It is unclear whether she was Irish and there is no evidence that Nucky had her husband killed like he does to Margaret's on the show. -Boardwalk Empire BookDid Nucky really have a first wife who died?Yes. On the show, Nucky (Steve Buscemi) alludes to having lost his first wife. The Boardwalk Empire true story reveals that Nucky Johnson's first wife was his childhood sweetheart Mabel Jeffries. They both had enrolled at State Normal School College in Trenton, New Jersey. Nucky left after a year to begin an unpaid law clerkship. He eventually quit to work as a clerk at the office of his father, the sheriff.
After Mabel Jeffries graduated and began work as a teacher, the two married on September 12, 1906. Their marriage ended with her death in 1912 of tuberculosis. It was at this time that Nucky began to live a fast life. Decades later, following an engagement that lasted three years, he married Florence 'Floss' Osbeck, a thirty-three-year-old showgirl, on August 11, 1941 before entering prison for tax evasion. -Nucky: The Real Story of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Boss by Frank J. Ferry
The Real Nucky Thompson
Did Nucky have any children?
No. On the HBO TV show, Nucky adopts Margaret Schroeder's two children around the time that Margaret and Nucky marry. In researching The Boardwalk Empire true story, we discovered that the real Nucky Thompson (Nucky Johnson) never had any children. His brother, who is depicted as having a rather large family on the show, also never had any kids.
Boardwalk Empire T-Shirts celebrate fan favorites including the purely fictional character Richard Harrow.
Yes. James 'Jimmy' Darmody, portrayed by Michael Pitt, is to some degree based on Jimmy Boyd (Business Insider). Born November 5, 1906, James H. Boyd worked closely with Nucky Johnson and has been called his 'right-hand man' by their lawyer Frank J. Ferry. It is rumored that Boyd got his start as a bellhop at the Ritz and was able to work his way up. Ultimately, he became a part of the Atlantic Board of Freeholders (county legislators) for almost forty years. He was also the executive chairman of the Fourth Ward Republic Club for two decades and served in the army during World War II (Jimmy Darmody was a WWI veteran). By now you've probably guessed that the real James Darmody (Jimmy Boyd) was not killed by Nucky Johnson. He died more than five years after Nucky in April 1974. -Atlantic Cape Community College
Did the real Nucky Thompson actually live at the Ritz-Carlton?
Yes. Nucky Johnson leased the entire ninth story of the Ritz-Carlton, as well as other properties. While being investigated for tax evasion, it was noted that his daily expenditures included such food as lobster, steaks and caviar. Although he treated himself well, spending large amounts on clothes and cars too, he also spread his wealth to charities, impoverished areas and workers. -ACMuseum.org
Ship-shaped bar of real Babette's nightclub (top) and the TV show's ship-shaped bar (bottom).
Nucky Thompson Real Story
Yes. Babette's was an actual Atlantic City nightclub that existed from the 1920s through the 1940s. It was originally called the Golden Inn and was owned by Dan Stebbins. He changed the name in the 1930s after marrying singer and performer Blanche Babette, who had come to Atlantic City in 1920. Babette's was indeed known for its unique décor, which included a ship-shaped bar (pictured) similar to but not as extravagant as the one Martin Scorsese insisted on having created for the show. Like on the TV show, the real Babette's saw it's fair share of illegal activity, including backroom gambling and horse-race betting, which caused it to become the target of a federal investigation in the 1930s. -ACMuseum.org
Did Nucky really wear a red carnation in his lapel?
Yes. Like on the TV show, the real Enoch Thompson (Enoch Johnson) wore a fresh red carnation in his lapel daily. It was his personal trademark. -The Press of Atlantic City
Did the real Nucky have a pale, scrawny appearance like actor Steve Buscemi on the TV show?
No. The real Nucky swam almost every day of the week to keep in shape. He was a tall, muscular, formidable man who weighed roughly 225 pounds and stood over six feet tall. He also did not have a somewhat high-pitched voice like actor Steve Buscemi. He had a forceful and outgoing personality and he was almost always seen wearing glasses. -Galloway.Patch.com
Boardwalk Empire Set Tour and Related Video
Join Bob Shaw, the Production Designer on the HBO Boardwalk Empire TV show, as he offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Boardwalk Empire sets, including the replica Atlantic City Boardwalk that was constructed exclusively for the show. Also, watch the trailer that was used to promote the HBO TV series.
Boardwalk Empire Sets: Designing An Empire Boardwalk Empire's ProductionDesigner, Bob Shaw, takes us on a tour ofthe Boardwalk Empire sets,including an enormous, life-size replicaof the Atlantic City Boardwalk built inBrooklyn, Babette's nightclub, and NuckyThompson's office. |
Boardwalk Empire Trailer Watch the Boardwalk Empiretrailer for the HBO TV series starringSteve Buscemi as Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson,the treasurer and ruler of Atlantic Cityduring the 1920s and 1930s. |
Link-to-Learn More:
The following is a list of characters from the HBO television show Boardwalk Empire. The show dramatizes the prohibition era in Atlantic City and the early history of the American Mafia. Many of the characters on the show are fictional. Some are (loosely) based on historical figures; of these, some use the name of the person upon which they are based, while others have had their names changed for the program.
Why Did Tommy Darmody Kill Nucky Thompson
Characters[edit]
Main characters[edit]
| Character | Portrayed by | Season(s) | Character notes | Based on | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
| Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson | Steve Buscemi | Main | The corrupt treasurer of Atlantic County and its most powerful political figure. | Enoch L. Johnson[1] | ||||
| James 'Jimmy' Darmody | Michael Pitt | Main | Stand-in | Does not appear | A former Princeton student who served in World War I. After returning home, Jimmy is hired by Nucky Thompson as his driver. | Jimmy Boyd[2] | ||
| Margaret Thompson (formerly Schroeder, née Rohan) | Kelly Macdonald | Main | A young Irish widow and mother, she turns to Nucky for help and eventually becomes his lover and later, his wife. | Florence Osbeck[1] | ||||
| Nelson Van Alden / George Mueller | Michael Shannon | Main | A former Prohibition agent on the run after the murder of his former partner. Under the alias George Mueller, he inadvertently gets caught up in the conflict between Dean O'Banion and Al Capone. | William Frank[1] | ||||
| Elias 'Eli' Thompson | Shea Whigham | Main | Nucky's younger brother and former sheriff of Atlantic County. | Alfred 'Alf' Johnson[1] | ||||
| Angela Darmody | Aleksa Palladino | Main | Does not appear | Jimmy's wife and the mother of his young son. | No historical basis | |||
| Arnold Rothstein | Michael Stuhlbarg | Main | Does not appear | A powerful and intelligent New York gangster who enters into business with Nucky | Arnold Rothstein | |||
| Al Capone | Stephen Graham | Main | A low-level Chicago gangster with ambitions of leading the Chicago mob | Al Capone | ||||
| Charles 'Lucky' Luciano | Vincent Piazza | Main | A Sicilian-American gangster and close associate of Rothstein | Charles 'Lucky' Luciano | ||||
| Lucy Danziger | Paz de la Huerta | Main | Does not appear | Nucky's mistress and a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer | No historical basis[2] | |||
| Albert 'Chalky' White | Michael Kenneth Williams | Main | Nucky's counterpart in Atlantic City's black community | No historical basis | ||||
| Edward 'Eddie' Kessler | Anthony Laciura | Main | Does not appear | Nucky's German personal assistant and valet. | Louis Kessel[1] | |||
| Mickey Doyle | Paul Sparks | Main | An Atlantic City bootlegger | Mickey Duffy[1] | ||||
| Commodore Louis Kaestner | Dabney Coleman | Main | Does not appear | Nucky's mentor and predecessor in Atlantic City, Jimmy's biological father. | Louis Kuehnle[1] | |||
| Richard Harrow | Jack Huston | Recurring | Main | Does not appear | A former Army marksman who allies with Jimmy and later Nucky. Disfigured during the war, he wears a mask over half of his face. | No historical basis | ||
| Gillian Darmody | Gretchen Mol | Recurring | Main | Jimmy's mother and an old friend of Nucky's. She is also Luciano's former lover. | No historical basis | |||
| Owen Sleater | Charlie Cox | Does not appear | Recurring | Main | Does not appear | An Irish immigrant and IRA member. He has an affair with Margaret, while working his way up in Nucky's organization. | No historical basis | |
| Gyp Rosetti | Bobby Canavale | Does not appear | Main | Does not appear | Sicilian gangster backed by Joe Masseria, who challenged Nucky. | No historical basis | ||
| Roy Phillips | Ron Livingston | Does not appear | Main | Does not appear | A wealthy out-of-town businessman who finds himself getting involved with Gillian Darmody. | No historical basis | ||
| Dr. Valentin Narcisse | Jeffrey Wright | Does not appear | Main | Harlem racketeer who challenges Chalky. | Casper Holstein[3] | |||
| William 'Willie' Thompson | Ben Rosenfield | Does not appear | Recurring | Main | Eli's oldest son and Nucky's nephew who becomes an assistant U.S. Attorney in New York City. | No historical basis | ||
Recurring characters[edit]
| Actor | Character | Season(s) | Character notes | Based on |
| Emily Meade | Pearl | Season 1 | a prostitute and Jimmy Darmody's lover | |
| Greg Antonacci | Johnny Torrio | Seasons 1–5 | Capone's boss in Chicago | Johnny Torrio[1] |
| Erik Weiner | Agent Sebso | Season 1 | Van Alden's partner. | |
| William Hill | Alderman George O'Neill | Seasons 1–2 | One of Nucky's political cronies and ward bosses. | |
| Robert Clohessy | James Neary | Seasons 1–2 | One of Nucky's political cronies and ward bosses | |
| Dominic Chianese | Leander Whitlock | Seasons 2-5 | Atlantic City lawyer and ally to the Commodore | |
| William Forsythe | Manny Horvitz | Season 2-3 | Philadelphia gangster | |
| Anna Katarina | Isabelle Jeunet | Seasons 1, 3 | A French woman who owns an haute couture shop on the boardwalk. | |
| Max Casella | Leo D'Alessio | Season 1 | A Philadelphia gangster Doyle owes money to. | Leo Lanzetta[1] |
| Edoardo Ballerini | Ignacius D'Alessio | Season 1 | Leo's brother and another gangster | Ignatius Lanzetta[1] |
| Anatol Yusef | Meyer Lansky | Seasons 1–5 | A young protégé of Rothstein and partners with Luciano | Meyer Lansky[1] |
| Joseph Riccobene | Frankie Yale | Seasons 1, 3–4 | Brooklyn gangster | Frankie Yale[1] |
| Kevin O'Rourke | Edward L. Bader | Seasons 1–4 | Atlantic City mayor | Edward L. Bader[1] |
| Dana Ivey | Mrs. McGarry | Season 1 | A prominent leader of the Women's Suffrage and Temperance Movements. | Susan B. Anthony[1] |
| Geoff Pierson | Senator Walter Edge | Seasons 1–3 | New Jersey Senator who thwarts some of Nucky's plans. | Senator Walter Evans Edge |
| Chris Mulkey | Mayor Frank Hague | Seasons 1–2 | Corrupt Democratic Mayor of Jersey City & occasional political rival & ally of Nucky. | Mayor Frank Hague |
| Pearce Bunting | Bill McCoy | Season 1-4 | Sea captain and rum runner for Nucky Thompson | Bill McCoy[1] |
| Tracy Middendorf | Babette | Seasons 1–3 | Owner of Babette's Night Club | |
| Natalie Wachen | Lenore White | Seasons 2–4 | Beautiful wife of Chalky White, and mother to his three children. | |
| Michael Zegen | Benny Siegel | Seasons 2–3, 5 | A low-level criminal working card-games for Lansky and Luciano. | Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel |
| Glenn Fleshler | George Remus | Seasons 2–4 | A major bootlegger based in Ohio; refers to himself in the third-person. | George Remus |
| Julianne Nicholson | Esther Randolph | Seasons 2–4 | Assistant Attorney General who investigates Nucky for election fraud. | Mabel Walker Willebrandt |
| Christiane Seidel | Sigrid Mueller | Seasons 2–5 | Wife of Nelson Van Alden / George Mueller. | |
| Ivo Nandi | Joe Masseria | Seasons 2–5 | New York mob boss who backs Rosetti against Nucky. | Joe Masseria |
| Christopher McDonald | Harry Daugherty | Seasons 1–3 | Campaign manager to Warren G. Harding, and later his Attorney General. | Harry M. Daugherty |
| Daniel Cox (Season 1); Ed Jewett (Season 2 on) | Jess Smith | Seasons 1–3 | Aide to Harry Daugherty. | Jess Smith |
| Arron Shiver | Dean O'Banion | Seasons 3–4 | Irish-American mob boss in Chicago and rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. | Dean O'Banion |
| Stephen Root | Gaston Bullock Means | Seasons 3–4 | Con artist, FBI agent, and 'fixer' for bootleggers. | Gaston Means |
| James Cromwell | Andrew Mellon | Seasons 3–4 | Secretary of the Treasury who testifies at a government hearing that, if Prohibition is to be effective, more money needs to be spent. | Andrew Mellon |
| Meg Chambers Steedle | Billie Kent | Season 3 | A young Broadway actress who begins an affair with Nucky. Killed in an explosion meant for Nucky. | Billie Dove[4] |
| Chris Caldovino | Tonino Sandrelli | Seasons 3-5 | Right-hand man to Gyp Rosetti and Mafia lieutenant. | |
| Brian Geraghty | James 'Jim' Tolliver | Season 4 | FBI agent under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover posing as a corrupt prohibition agent under the name Warren Knox in Atlantic City. Killed by Eli after trying to blackmail him. | |
| Eric Ladin | J. Edgar Hoover | Season 4 | Director of the Bureau of Investigation. | J. Edgar Hoover |
| Domenick Lombardozzi | Ralph Capone | Seasons 4-5 | Al Capone's brother. | Ralph Capone |
| Morgan Spector | Frank Capone | Season 4 | Al Capone's level-headed brother. | Frank Capone |
| Margot Bingham | Daughter Maitland | Season 4-5 | Singer and ward of Dr. Valentin Narcisse who begins an affair with Chalky White. | |
| Paul Calderon | Arquimedes | Season 5 | Nucky Thompson's personal bodyguard | |
| Giampiero Judica | Salvatore Maranzano | Season 5 | Powerful New York Mafia boss at war with his right-hand man, Lucky Luciano. | Salvatore Maranzano |
| John Ellison Conlee | Louis Kaestner | Season 5 | The Commodore as a young man. | Louis Kuehnle |
| Matt Letscher | Joseph P. Kennedy | Season 5 | Boston businessman. | Joseph P. Kennedy |
Characters as performers[edit]
| Actor | Performer | Episode | Notes |
| Stephen DeRosa | Eddie Cantor | 'Boardwalk Empire', 'Broadway Limited', | comedian and singer |
| Erin McGrath[5] | Edith Day | 'Anastasia' | 'Alice Blue Gown' (from 'Irene') |
| Malachy Cleary | Warren Harding | Hold Me In Paradise | Senator |
| John Treacy Egan[6] | Duncan O'Connor | 'Nights in Ballygran' | 'Carrickfergus' |
| A'Lisa Miles | Mamie Smith | 'Home' | 'Crazy Blues' |
| Kathy Brier | Sophie Tucker | 'Belle Femme' | 'Some of These Days' |
| Remy Auberjonois | Hardeen | 'Paris Green' | magician and escape artist (brother of Houdini) |
Characters as athletes[edit]
| Actor | Athlete | Episode | Notes |
| Devin Harjes | Jack Dempsey | 'What Does the Bee Do?' 'Peg of Old' | boxer (heavyweight champion, 1919–26) |
The Real Nucky Thompson Wikipedia
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefghijklmnoJohnson, Nelson (2010). Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. Plexus Publishing, Inc. ISBN978-0-9666748-6-6.
- ^ ab'Interview: 'Boardwalk Empire' creator Terence Winter'. September 9, 2010.
- ^Moaba, Alex (2013-09-05). ''Boardwalk Empire': Jeffrey Wright On The Real-Life Racketeer Who Inspired His Season 4 Character (VIDEO)'. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
- ^Billie Dove,
- ^Venutolo, Anthony, 'Boardwalk Empire' episode 4, 'Anastasia': Nucky's birthday bash and back room deals, The Star-Ledger, October 11, 2010
- ^Venutolo, Anthony, 'Boardwalk Empire' recap: Van Alden busts up Nucky's Celtic bash, The Star-Ledger, October 18, 2010
