These Boardwalk Empire Characters Were Real Life Gangsters

Among others, these five key characters were genuine gangsters of the time:

1. Lucky Luciano

Charles "Lucky" Luciano was born in Sicily in 1897 and moved to the US at the age of 10. After arriving in New York he bummed around getting bits and pieces of trouble at school – until the day he won around $250 playing dice.

His life changed that day when he decided to take the money and learn how to earn on the streets. He formed a gang offering protection from fellow Italian immigrants to Irish and Jewish kids. Eventually, he got into bootlegging with financial assistance from Arnold Rothstein (more about him later).

Known as Lucky (and played in the show by Vincent Piazza), he survived numerous attacks – including having his throat slashed – Luciano went on to start the Five Families and The Commission that ran New York. Which is why he's known as the father of the organised crime.

2. Meyer Lansky

Played by Anatol Yusef, Russian-born Meyer Lansky was one of the Jewish kids who benefitted from Lucky Luciano's protection in the streets of New York. Along with Lucky, he was part of the bootlegging gang and also ran drugs as well as getting in on the labour union money that was swilling about.

He also did work for Arnold Rothstein and served as an advisor for Joe Massaria.

3. Arnold Rothstein

As was obvious from the show, Rothstein (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) was majorly into gambling. He was a smart mover whose father was also a gangster. As a New York mob boss, Rothstein ran casinos, smuggled drugs, and was into bootlegging among other pursuits.

But he's best known as the brains behind the fixing scandal in the 1919 World Series and for fixing a major horse race, the Travers Stakes in 1921.

4. Johnny Torrio

Johnny (Greg Antonacci) was a New York mobster with a fierce reputation that saw him moved to Chicago where he was charged with running brothels. He was also the boss of Al Capone. He took over running Chicago following the killing of Big Jim Colosimo.

He ran Chicago until he was shot in 1925 and effectively retired. After a stint living back in Italy, he sat on The Commission set up by Lucky Luciano and served two years in jail for tax evasion from 1939 to 1941.

5. Joe Masseria

Portrayed by Ivo Nandi in the show, "Joe the Boss" famously survived a mass shooting in which he was hit from point-blank range. Born in Sicily, Masseria moved to New York to avoid going to prison in Italy for murder. He was the boss of what became the Genovese family. He went on to head up the Morello's and instigated the infamous Castellammarese War.