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• Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bossier
• Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bosses
• Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bossier City
• Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bossier

Questioning the Story:

Is Margaret Schroeder based on a real person? Margaret Schroeder, who is portrayed by Kelly Macdonald on the 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 Book
Did 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
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.

Is Jimmy Darmody based on a real person?

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

Is Babette's nightclub based on a real location?

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.

Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bossier

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Nucky Johnson ran Atlantic City in the early 20th century, bringing it from an average tourist town to the site of America's illicit indulgence.

Atlantic City rose to popularity by being “The World’s Playground” in the early 20th century. During the Prohibition era, prostitution, gambling, alcohol, and any and all other vices could be readily found in the New Jersey coastal town — provided guests had the money to pay for them.

It was famously understood that Prohibition never really made it to Atlantic City. Nucky Johnson was the man responsible for building the vice industry whose legacy is still very much alive in Atlantic City even today.

Born Enoch Lewis Johnson on January 20, 1883, Nucky Johnson was the son of Smith E. Johnson, an elected Sheriff, first of Atlantic County, New Jersey, and then of Mays Landing, where the family relocated after his three-year term ended. At the age of nineteen, Johnson decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, first becoming the undersheriff of Mays Landing, eventually succeeding him as the elected Sheriff of Atlantic County in 1908.

Shortly after, he was appointed to the position of Atlantic County Republican Executive committee secretary. After his boss, Louis Kuehnle, was imprisoned for corruption, Johnson took over as the head of the organization.

Nucky Johnson and Al Capone on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Although he never ran for an elected political office, Nucky Johnson’s money and city government influence meant he held a lot of sway in Atlantic City politics. His power was so great that he was even able to convince Democratic political boss Frank Hague to abandon Otto Wittpenn, the Democratic candidate, and throw his support behind Republican candidate Walter Edge in the 1916 election.

He later took a position as county treasurer, which granted him unparalleled access to the city’s funds. He began to grow the city’s vice tourism industry, promoting prostitution and permitting the service of alcohol on Sundays, all the while accepting kickbacks and corrupted government contracts that substantially grew his own coffers.

By 1919, Johnson was already relying heavily on prostitution and gambling to drive the Atlantic City economy – making himself very rich in the process – but when Prohibition hit, Johnson saw an opportunity for Atlantic City and himself.

Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bosses

Atlantic City rapidly became the main port for importing bootlegged alcohol. Johnson hosted and organized the historic Atlantic City Conference in the spring of 1929, where organized crime leaders, including notorious crime boss Al Capone and Bugs Moran, coordinated a way to consolidate the movement alcohol through Atlantic City and down the East Coast, marking an end to the violent Bootleg Wars.

In addition, the free-flowing alcohol attracted even more tourists, making Atlantic City a popular convention destination. That prompted Johnson to build a brand new, state of the art convention hall. Johnson took a cut of every illegal activity that took place in Atlantic City and when Prohibition finally ended in 1933, Johnson was estimated to be making over $500,000 a year ($7 million today) from illicit activities.

FlickrNucky Johnson and Steve Buscemi, who portrays him on Boardwalk Empire.

However, the end of Prohibition brought new troubles for Johnson: Bootlegged alcohol, Atlantic City’s biggest source of wealth, was no longer necessary, and Johnson was facing intense scrutiny from the federal government. Johnson was always expensively dressed with his signature fresh red carnation always on his lapel, and his lavish parties, limousines, and other flamboyant displays of wealth drew attention.

He was not particularly shy about hiding how he had made his wealth, openly saying that Atlantic City had “whiskey, wine, women, song and slot machines. I won’t deny it and I won’t apologize for it. If the majority of the people didn’t want them they wouldn’t be profitable and they would not exist. The fact that they do exist proves to me that the people want them.”

In 1939, he was indicted for income tax evasion and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison along with a fine of $20,000. He served only four of those ten years before being paroled and avoided ever paying the fine by taking a pauper’s plea. He lived out the rest of his life in peace and died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 85.

Nucky Johnson remains an American icon, instrumental to the creation of Atlantic City. Like most icons, his story has been retold and exaggerated through various fictional portrayals, most famously as the character Nucky Thompson is based on in the popular HBO series Boardwalk Empire.

However, the show takes several liberties, making Thompson a violent and competitive bootlegger who murdered others who interfered with his business.

Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bossier City

In real life, despite his great wealth, illegal deals, and associations with shady characters, Nucky Johnson was never known to have killed anyone. Instead, he was well-liked by the public, generous with his wealth and so well-respected that he never needed to exert violence in order to build his empire in Atlantic City.

Nucky The Real Story Of The Atlantic City Boardwalk Bossier

After learning about Nucky Johnson, check out the true story of the mobsters behind Goodfellas. Then, check out these female gangsters who clawed their way to the top.