As we all know, Ronald Reagan was a movie actor before he became the California governor and the United States president. Donald Trump, the billionaire businessman-turned Republican Party presidential contender, has never been toplined onscreen but, for decades, he’s been a celebrity, a recognizable face and name. And so for decades, he’s been directly referenced in film and TV scripts. He’s made cameo appearances onscreen. Plus, even one rather infamous screen villain is based on The Donald.
All of this was never more apparent than when I recently re-screened Woody Allen’s CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS, which dates from 1989-- or, 27 years ago. At one point in the film, a pompous television producer, played by Alan Alda, conjures up an idea for a new series about “a wealthy, high-profile builder who’s always trying to realize grandiose dreams, a la Donald Trump, to be shot in New York.” One might say that this direct, almost-three-decades-old reference to The Donald serves as a kind of “official recognition” of his celebrity. In fact, almost a decade after CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS, Trump appears as himself in another Woody Allen film, this one from 1998 that is appropriately titled CELEBRITY.
Trump also is seen in a host of other films-- among the most recognizable titles are ZOOLANDER, THE ASSOCIATE, and HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK-- and such TV series as SPIN CITY, SEX AND THE CITY, THE NANNY, and THE JEFFERSONS. And Donald Trump does not only appear as Donald Trump. In 54, released in 1998, the saga of Studio 54, the celebrated late 1970s New York nightspot, he is billed as a “VIP Patron.”
However, even more tellingly and revealingly, Donald Trump has been cited in the scripts of various TV episodes. These references will speak for themselves. There’s dialogue from GILMORE GIRLS that easily might have been written by Ted Cruz. That line is: “Tell me it’s not that bastard Donald Trump.” As for The Donald’s sex appeal, here’s a line from SEX AND THE CITY: “You see that guy? He’s the next Donald Trump. Except he’s younger and much better looking.” As for The Donald’s hair, here’s one from SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: “It was revealed that Donald Trump has plans to buy a parachute in case he ever has to jump out of one of his buildings. Either that, or he plans to grab his comb over and Mary Poppins his way down past the 80th floor.” And here’s another, from THE NOSTALGIA CRITIC: “This is the worst Christmas gift since Donald Trump’s toupee!”
Finally, The Donald was the inspiration for a villain in BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II, which like CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS also dates from 1989. He is Biff Tannen, an egocentric bully who is the nemesis of Marty McFly, the Michael J. Fox character. In the film, Biff refers to himself as “America’s greatest living folk hero” as well as “one of the richest and most powerful men in America.” He brags about his “humble beginnings," and how a trip to the racetrack on his 21st birthday made him a millionaire overnight, and how he “parlayed that lucky winning streak into the vast empire called Biffco.”
None of this is conjecture. In an article in The Daily Beast, Bob Gale, the BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II screenwriter, even acknowledged the Trump-Tannen connection.
Rob Edelman has authored or edited several dozen books on film, television, and baseball. He has taught film history courses at several universities and his writing has appeared in many newspapers, magazines, and journals. His frequent collaborator is his wife, fellow WAMC film commentator Audrey Kupferberg.
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