| | | | Part One The Truck 1959 |
| 1 | Frederick | Dupree | Ray Carney's cousin. aka: Freddie. |
| | Raymond | Carney | A furniture salesman. aka: Ray. |
| | Aronowitz | | Carney's partner in the sale and distribution of stolen products. |
| | Jacob | | A surly, pockmarked teenager from a Ludlow Street rookery. |
| | Lena | Horne | American dancer. |
| | Ruby | Brown | One of Carney's acquaintances. |
| | Timmy | James | One of Ruby's acquaintances. |
| | Mr. | Harold | One of Ruby's acquaintances. |
| | Hazel | Brown | Ruby's mother. |
| | Oliver | Handy | Ruby's classmate. |
| | Pat | Baker | Owner of the Miracle Garage. |
| | Rusty | | Carney's assistant. |
| | Larry | Early | One of Carney's acquaintances. |
| | Gabe | Newman | One of Carney's acquaintances. |
| | Elizabeth | | Ray Carney's wife. |
| | Mr. | Williams | A math teacher. |
| | Jane | Williams | Mr. William's wife |
| | May | | Carney's daughter. |
| 2 | Richie | Evans | American motorsports racing driver. |
| | Alma | | Elizabeth's mother. |
| | Dr. | Blair | Elizabeth's physician. |
| | Leland | Jones | Elizabeth's father. |
| | Bert | | New owner of the building. |
| | Martin Luther | King Jr. | American minister. |
| | Millie | | Freddie's mother. |
| | Pee Wee | Gibson | Freddie's acquaintance. |
| | Dave | Cortez | American pop and R&B organist and pianist. |
| | Miami Joe | | Freddie's acquaintance. |
| 3 | Sandra | | A waitress. |
| | Dinah | Washington | American singer. |
| | Billy | Eckstine | American singer. |
| | Ink Spots | | A vocal group. |
| | Cab | Halloway | American singer. |
| | Joe | Louis | American professional boxer. |
| | Adam Clayton | Powell Jr. | A former U.S. representative. |
| | Jackie | Robinson | American baseball player. |
| | Bill | | A cook. |
| | Chink | Montague | A local mobster. |
| | Buxbaum | | One of Carney's men. |
| 4 | Arthur | | One of Freddie's acquaintances. |
| | Pepper | | One of Freddie's acquaintances. |
| | Betty | | Carney's friend. |
| | Little Richard | | American musician. |
| | Chester | Miller | A night man. |
| | Anna-Louise | | A switchboard operator. |
| | Lulu | | Anna-Louise's friend. |
| | Rob | Reynolds | The manager of the hotel. |
| | Duke | Ellington | American composer. |
| | Richard | Wright | American author. |
| | Ella | Fitzgerald | American jazz singer. |
| | Mr. | Goodall | One who occupy Room 313. |
| | Lancelot | St. John | Worked at the hotel bar. |
| | Fernando G. | Ruiz | A Venezuelan national and distributor of handcrafted crockery. |
| | Leonard | Gates | One who stayed ar Room 807. |
| 5 | Bumpy | Johnson | Chink's acquaintance. |
| | Lucinda | Cole | Chink's girl. |
| | Fredi | Washington | American film actress. |
| | Delroy | | One of Chink's men. |
| | Yea Big | | One of Chink's men. |
| | Lou | Parks | Chink's longtime fence. |
| | Saul | Stein | Self-proclaimed Gem King of Broadway. |
| 6 | W. C. | Handy | American composer. |
| | Alexander | Oakes | Elizabeth's childhood friend. |
| | Stacey | Miller | Carney's acquaintance. |
| 7 | Banjo | | An elderly hustler. |
| | Harry | Houdini | Hungarian-American illutionist. |
| | Lacey | | Carney's acquaintance. |
| | Julius | | Lacey's son. |
| | Mike | Carney | Ray Carney's father. |
| | Gladys | | Mike Carney's live-in-partner. |
| | Chan | | Owner of a Jolly Chan's restaurant. |
| 8 | William | Munson | A detective from 28th precinct. |
| | Gibbs | | Hotel's night manager. |
| 9 | Pete | | Miami Joe's cousin. |
| | | | Part Two Dorvay 1961 |
| 1 | Terrance | Pierce | Carney's acquaintance. |
| | Hank | Diggs | President of the Diggs Pomade company. |
| | John F. | Kennedy | 35th U.S. President. |
| | Clarence | Darrow | Pierce's acquaintance. |
| | Franklin D | Shephard | An uptown lawyer. |
| | Samuel | Parker | An English churchman. |
| | Robert F. | Wagner | Former mayor of New York City. |
| | Mr. | Liebman | An economics professor. |
| | William | Holden | American actor. |
| | John | | Ray Carney's son. |
| | Wilfred | Duke | A banker. |
| | Abraham | Frye | One of the few negro judges. |
| | Dick | Thompson | The President and CEO of High Performing Systems Inc. |
| | Ellis | Gray | Ran the biggest Negro-owned construction company in the city. |
| | Louie the Turtle | | Chink's acquaintance. |
| | Denmark | Gibson | Owner of the oldest funeral home in Harlem. |
| | Clement | Landford | Former member of Dumas Club. |
| | Napoleon | Bonafarte | French military leader. |
| | Alexander | Dumas | Son of a French army officer. |
| | Marie | | Carney's secretary. |
| | Candace | | Duke's secretary. |
| 2 | Lester | | Carney's acquaintance. |
| | Birdy | | Lester's girlfriend. |
| | Zippo | | A photographer. |
| | James | Cagney | American actor. |
| | Chet | Blakely | Freddie's acquaintance. |
| | Linus | | Freddie's friend. |
| | Biz | Dixon | Freddie's acquaintance. |
| | Alice | | Biz Dixon's mother. |
| 3 | Harvey | Moskowitz | A jeweler. |
| | Ernest | Borgnine | Carney's acquaintance. |
| | | Simonov | A professor. |
| | Thomas | Edison | American inventor. |
| | Charles | Dickens | English writer. |
| | Homer | | Greek author and epic poet. |
| | Miguel | de Cervantes | A Spanish writer. |
| | Benjamin | Franklin | One of the Founding Fathers of the United States. |
| | John D. | Rockefeller | American business magnate. |
| | Ari | | Moskowitz's nephew. |
| | Sidney | Poitier | Bahamian-American actor. |
| 4 | Beatrice | | Rusty's fiance. |
| | Mr. | Smith | A businessman. |
| | Victor | Mature | American stage actor. |
| 5 | Thomas Andrew | Bruce | A tenant at apartment 288 Convent. aka: Cheap Brucie. |
| | Laura | | A working lady. |
| | Hazel | | Laura's aunt. |
| 6 | Nancy | | Carney's mother. |
| | Pedro | | Freddie's father. |
| | Isabel | | One of Millie's acquaintances. |
| | Jimmy | Ellis | One of Millie's acquaintances. |
| | Roper | | Pepper's partner. |
| | Alfred | | Pepper's grandfather. |
| | Tommy | Lips | Pepper's acquaintance. |
| | Alvin | Pitt | An osteopath by profession. |
| | Corky | Bell | A security at the big poker game. |
| | Sylvester | King | Corky's acquaintance. |
| | Fletcher | | An white accountant from Connecticut. |
| | Marco | | Dixon's employee. |
| 7 | Myrna | Duke | Wilfred Duke's wife. |
| | Arthur | Levitt | One of the mayor's men. |
| | Van Der | Zee | A chronicler. |
| | Carl | Van Vechten | American writer. |
| | Milton | O'Neil | A divorced lawyer. |
| | Prince Alfonso | | Prince of Portugal. |
| | Francis | Burlington | Founder of The Burlington Hall company. |
| 8 | Dr. | Campbell | Mr. Jones' friend. |
| | | | Part III Cool It Baby |
| 1 | Jeffrey | Martins | One of Carney's acquaintances. |
| | Higgins | | One of Carney's acquaintances. |
| | Devon | | Higgin's cousin. |
| | Debbie | Reynolds | American actress. |
| | Malcolm | X | African-American minister. |
| | Diahann | Carroll | American actress. |
| | Chief | Murphy | A police Commisioner. |
| | Mr. | Diaz | Owner of MT Liquors. |
| 2 | Chet the Vet | | One of Chink's acquaintances. |
| | Jerry | Catena | An underboss in the Genovese family. |
| 3 | George W. | Carver | American scientist. |
| | Dale | Baker | The president of the Black Star Travel. |
| | Detective | Fitzgerald | The detective of the 33rd Precinct. |
| | Garrett | | Detective Fitzgerald's partner. |
| | Patrick | Carson | A dentist to Harlem's elite. |
| | Frank | Hogan | The Manhattan DA. |
| | Lamont | Hopkins | Rans the uptown branch of Empire United Insurance. |
| | James | Nathan | In-charge of business loans at Carver Federal. |
| | James | Powell | A ninth grader who joined the mob of angry students. |
| | Patrick | Lynch | The building superintendent. |
| | Thomas | Gilligan | A police officer. |
| | Verna | | Pierce's wife. |
| | Robert | Van Wyck | The first mayor of the New York City. |
| 4 | Louella | Mather | Linus's acquaintance. |
| | Joe | DiMaggio | American baseball player. |
| | Charlie | Keller | American baseball player and coach. |
| | Rock | Hudson | American actor. |
| | Buck | | Munson's partner. |
| | Mr. | Sherman | Carney's neighbor. |
| | Patti | Page | American singer and recording artist. |
| | Abe | Evans | Owner of the Sterling Gold & Gem jewelry store. |
| 5 | James | | Linus' great-uncle |
| | General | Tip | A legend in championship jism circles. |
| | Ornette | Coleman | American saxophonist. |
| | Gretchen | | Van Wyck's old housekeeper. |
| | Ambrose | Van Wyck | Linus' father. |
| | Janice | | Freddie's next door neighbor. |
| 6 | Buford | | Pepper's acquaintance. |
| | Lee | Marvin | American film actor. |
| 7 | Walt | Whitman | American poet, essayist and journalist. |
| | Ed | Bench | Van Wyck's lawyer. |
| | Mr. | Lloyd | Ed Bench's partner companion. |
| | Dootsie | Bell | Pepper's acquaintance. |
| | Cal | James | Pepper's girl cousin. |
| 8 | Frank | Sinatra | American singer and actor. |
| | Count | Basie | American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. |
| 9 | Rodney | | Marie's husband. |
| | Tracy | | Marie's daughter. |
