John Harker

Not to be confused with: Jonathan Harker

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John Harker
Biographical Information
Real Name	John Harker
Aliases	Mousey Straddler
Home country	United States of America
Homeworld	Earth
Physical Information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Chronological / Political Information
Citizenship	American
Occupation(s)	President of the United States
Fictional Information
Created by	John Carpenter
Portrayed by	Donald Pleasence
First Appearance	Escape from New York
Final Appearance	Escape from New York

“ Good evening. Although I shall not be present at this historic summit meeting, I present this, in the hope that our great nations may learn to live in peace. ”

—John Harker, to the Hartford Summit's attendees, 1997

John Harker was an American politician who served as president of the United States at the end of the 20th century. In 1997, Harker was overseeing a war on two fronts with Russia and China when Air Force One crashed into New York Maximum Security Penitentiary. Harker had planned to appear at the Hartford Summit to meet with representatives of both enemy nations with knowledge of a revolutionary nuclear fusion process to end the war. He was captured by the Gypsies and held by the Duke of New York, who intended to use him for ransom.

With less than a day left in the summit, military veteran and master criminal Snake Plissken was deployed into the city to rescue the President. In the interim, Harker withstood psychological and physical torture at the hands of the Duke. Plissken was able to free the President with the assistance of Harold "Brain" Hellman, "Maggie", and "Cabbie"; all three died in the process of bringing Harker to the prison walls. After killing the Duke, Harker thanked Plissken for rescuing him but spoke dismissively about his other rescuers, prompting Plissken to destroy the tape and replace it with another. Harker, unaware of Plissken's ruse, played the tape for the summit and was humiliated by the result.

Notes

Behind the Scenes

• President Harker was portrayed by English actor Donald Pleasence. According to John Carpenter, Pleasence wrote a detailed backstory for the President, involving Margaret Thatcher achieving global dominance and the United States reverting into a British colony. Carpenter elected not to use any of it. Pleasence also came up with the idea to have the President wearing a long blonde wig during one of his torture scenes, and also invested the scene where he kills the Duke with his experience in a POW camp.

References & Connections

• Harker was ranked 115 out of 142 fictional film presidents, ahead of William Haney but behind Tom Beck.

Appearances

• Escape from New York (first and final appearance)

Links

• John Harker on the Snake Plissken Wiki