PLAYING‘ THE DON’
REAL estate made Donald Trump famous in New York, but for the rest of the country, Donald Trump became famous for being . . . Donald Trump.
In what would soon be a characteristic spin to market himself, his brand and even his family, Trump began making cameos in countless small- and big-screen shows — starring as a type of Mr. New York.
His first television appearance, in 1985, was an uncredited walk-on in an archetypal New York sitcom, “The Jeffersons.”
Four years later, Trump was cast in a Bo Derek flick called “Ghosts Can’t Do It,” in which he played a vain, slick real-estate mogul who charms a group of visitingg executives, includ- ing Derek’s sexy character.
“I think you like to make mischief,” Derek tells him during their two-minute scene. Cutaway shots of the then-39-year-old Trump show him painfully — but somehow endearingly — overacting with exaggerated pouts and smiles.
“You’re too pretty to be bad,” Derek’s character purrs to Trump.
“You noticed,” he quips back, ending the scene with a flourish.
Trump won the Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor for his widely panned silver-screen debut, with jokes abounding about how he shouldn’t give up his day job. But Trump kept honing his acting chops in other cameos on TV shows such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Nanny,” “Spin City” and “Sex and the City.”
One of his most famous walkons was in the hit movie “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister.
The 1992 Christmas flick was also a huge marketing coup for the Trump brand: Not only did he manage to get the movie filmed in and around his Plaza hotel, but the mogul is the first person Kevin sees when he steps into the hotel from the cold.
“Excuse me, where’s the lobby?” Kevin asks of a towering figure striding down the richly carpeted hallway.
Trump’s name was neverne mentioned, butbu the audience knewkn exactly who he was when he turnedtu around and answeredan the kid: “DDown the hall and to the left.”