Critically-acclaimed Starz series, Godfather of Harlem, is back for season 4. The show, anchored by gangster Bumpy Johnson played by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker, has introduced another famous bad boy, Harlem druglord Frank Lucas.
Lucas, who died on May 30, 2019, was portrayed by Denzel Washington in the American Gangster biopic. Known as one of Uptown’s most notorious drug kingpins, Lucas ran an operation that flooded Harlem streets with a heroin product called “Blue Magic”. The product, according to Lucas, was smuggled into the country from Southeast Asia in coffins of dead soldiers (this story has been refuted by investigators). At its height, Lucas said that his operation brought in $1 million dollars a day.
A lavish spender who rubbed elbows with celebrity elite such as Muhammad Ali, James Brown, and Diana Ross, Lucas was taken down in 1975 on federal drug charges. He was sentenced to 70 years but only served seven after turning informant.
Aliya S. King
In an exclusive clip below, we see a young Frank Lucas, played by Rome Flynn, interacting with Johnson in the early years. Lucas, whose facing consequences for Cowboy Nick’s murder, is ordered to return to the South by Bumpy. It will be far from the last time that two interact as they have a storied history.
Stream the full episode on MGM+ this Sunday.