Snidy Whiplash Villians-Origin?

Factual Questions
1

Where does this strereotype of villians from the early 20th century/late 19th century come from?

You know Handlebar Mustache, always being twirled, Top hat, frock coat. Snidy Whiplash from Dudly Dooright is the best example of it I can think of, but I’ve seen other examples:

-1930’s Strong Bad from www.Homestarrunner.com
-Homer in his play during the “Behind the Laughter” episode.
-Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York had the look down very nicely.
-Many older TV/Movie examples of the devil use this stereotype as well.

So, Does anyone know what this villian is called and where it originated?

2

The 1890 melodrama Blue Jeans, by Joseph Arthur, in which the hero and heroine are lured into a sawmill by the villain. It was already being parodied by Hollywood in the 1910s.

3

In the Rocky & Bullwinkle series, the villian’s name was definitely Snideley Whiplash.

4

Snidely, actually. “Snideley Whiplash” gets a few Google hits, but it’s gotta be a misspelling. Google gives zero hits for “Snidy Whiplash.”

5

What about Simon Legree from Uncle Tom’s Cabin? I’ve never read the book, but I think I’ve heard he was similar to Snidely Whiplash. (And the given names are similar.)

6

He was a 1930s style “Dastardly Villain”? :smiley:
Seriously, I believe it comes from 19th century melodrama, strongly influenced by but not exclusively from the Simon Legree character.

7

I’m only guessing, so take this with some salt, but I always thought it was a vaudeville character.