 Aces in 1953 | |
 Aces in 2007 | |
| Arthur "Aces" Brown | |
| Portrayed by | Brandon O'Neil Scott (1953) Cal Gibson (2007) |
| Episode | Devil Music |
| Status | Alive |
Arthur Brown, better known as Aces, is a character from "Devil Music".
In 1953, he worked as a busboy at the Five-and-Dime owned by Ed Valentine. Due to the racism and conformity in Germantown at the time, Aces had to follow Ed's strict rules, which included no playing any rhythm and blues music. However, Aces would secretly listen to that music after closing hours when no was around. He was aware that his boss was having an affair with the make-up girl in his office at nights, despite being a married family man. Later, Aces bonded with Ed's nephew Bingo Zohar (who recently moved to Germantown after the death of his parents) over their shared love of rhythm and blues.
He was fired after Bingo accidentally left behind an R&B record in the diner jukebox and Ed blamed Aces for it. Bingo found Aces at the blues club, Red Hot Mamas, where he apologized to him, but Aces only emphasized their racial differences and that no one will appreciate black music in the mainstream. He even dared Bingo to write his own song.
That was the last time Aces would see his friend, as Bingo was killed later that night by his cousin, JP Valentine, and his body was dumped outside the blues club. Aces was suspected of the murder but nothing could be pinned on him. He regretted how his and Bingo's last talk went.
In 2007, Aces now owns Red Hot Mamas. When Bingo's case was reopened, Detectives Will Jeffries, Scotty Valens, and Nick Vera interviewed Aces on two occasions. The first was when Will and Scotty came by to ask him about his relationship with Bingo, which Aces spoke fondly of. He also mentioned how Bingo's now deceased Uncle Ed hated his music. In the second interview, they brought up that Aces was actually fired from the Five-and-Dime because of Bingo, as he previously lied to the detectives that he quit. The reason Aces lied was due to his past experience of being blamed because he was black, even emphasizing to Will the generational difference of treatment between them. Aces also told the detectives about his former boss Ed's affair, and his last conversation with Bingo.
After the case is solved, Aces happily "watches" Bingo's spirit performing in his club like a real life rock & roll star.