Trump is a wannabe svengali of the world ... "
Stephen Colbert
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Svengali
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Svengali is a fictional character in George du Maurier's 1895 novel Trilby. Svengali is a man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young Irish girl, and makes her a famous singer.
Definition
The word "svengali" has come to refer to a person who, with evil intent, dominates, manipulates and controls a creative person such as a singer or an actor.
In court, a Svengali defence is a legal tactic that purports the defendant to be a pawn in the scheme of a greater and more influential, criminal mastermind.
Novel
Wilton Lackaye as Svengali
[Svengali] would either fawn or bully, and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humor which was more offensive than amusing and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. And his laughter was always derisive and full of malice.
In the novel, Svengali transforms Trilby into a great singer by using hypnosis. Unable to perform without Svengali's help, Trilby becomes entranced.
Portrayals
Svengali was first portrayed by the English actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree in London and by the actor Wilton Lackaye in the United States, in the 1895 stage play Trilby. The story has also been used in several movies. The character was portrayed in the following films, all titled Svengali: by Paul Wegener in the 1927 German silent film, by John Barrymore in 1931, by Donald Wolfit in 1954 (in Technicolor), by Peter O'Toole in a 1983 made-for-television modernised version co-starring Jodie Foster. In the 1983 movie, the names of the characters were changed. Derren Brown performed an Olivier Award–winning live show titled Svengali in 2012, in which he used an automaton called Svengali on stage that he claimed was made in the late 1700s.
See also
Spin (propaganda)