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