You Can Thank Star Trek For Isaac's Creepy Haircut In Children Of The Corn
In Fritz Kiersch's bonkers 1984 horror film "Children of the Corn," the small town of Gatlin, Nebraska is taken over by a gaggle of murderous children. Gatlin's kids have killed the town's grown-ups at the behest of an off-screen deity named He Who Walks Behind the Rows, some kind of harvest-related being that demands death and blood. The kiddie cult is headed by Isaac (John Franklin), a soft-spoken Quaker type who quietly decrees violent action from his flock. Isaac would eventually be betrayed by his gruff lieutenant Malachi (Courtney Gaines) who ties Isaac to a cross. Franklin would reprise his role in 1999 for "Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return.
Franklin has had a respectable acting career since his Corny debut, having played multiple voice roles in the '80s, as well as Cousin Itt in 1991's "The Addams Family." Franklin also showed up in the notorious cult film "Tammy and the T-Rex" and on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." He retired from acting in 2004 to become an English teacher, but then returned to acting in 2014.
One of Franklin's very first gigs, however, was a TV commercial for the 1983 Sega video game "Star Trek" for the Atari 2600. In the ad, the announcer repeatedly touted the game's difficulty, pointing out that a player requires a specialized joystick instructional appliance to play. "Is this the most challenging game in the galaxy?" the announcer asks. The camera then cuts to Franklin, decked out in a blue Starfleet uniform, wearing pointed ears, and sporting a Vulcan haircut. "It's inhuman," he says.
That haircut, seen above, was still fresh when Franklin arrived on the set of "Children of the Corn." Franklin talked about his unfortunate hair in the documentary film "Harvesting Horror: The Making of Children of the Corn."
'It's inhuman'
Shooting the Atari commercial, it seems, happened literally the day before the shoot for "Children of the Corn." Franklin did not wear a wig for the commercial, meaning a hair stylist had to give him very square bangs and pointed sideburns. He then jumped on a plane and flew to Iowa where he likely expected a wig or a new hairdo for his role as Isaac. The filmmakers, however, were fond of his Vulcan hair. He said:
"I had just done a commercial for 'Star Trek.' Atari. I was a Vulcan. And so they did the fake ears and they did the haircut with the horrible thing like this [straight bangs] And when I landed in Sioux City for 'Children of the Corn' the next day, they looked at it and they go, 'That kinda works. It's weird and creepy. Keep it!' And I'm like, 'Okay!' You can see I've got these weird bangs and the V [sideburns], and it's because I did a Vulcan the day before!"
Franklin would also return to the "Star Trek" universe in the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode "Critical Care" (November 1, 2000). In that episode, the Voyager's holographic doctor (Robert Picardo) was kidnapped and forced to work in a plague-ridden hospital on a distant alien world. The hospital is overseen by a computer that allocates care and supplies based on caste and not on medical need. Naturally, the doctor is morally outraged. Franklin played Kipp, a merchant who was victimized in a trading scam run by the evil Gar (John Kassir).
It was a small role, but 17 years after his Atari gig, Trek paid him again.