“Power Rangers” Star Jason David Frank, Dead at 49
Fully admitting out front, this is not a fun "write-up" for me. Over the weekend, I as well as thousands of other people, learned of the passing of Jason David Frank. Some may not know of him, but for me as kid growing up through late 90's and early 2000's, he was to the "Power Rangers" what Mariano RIvera was to the Yankees; he was the G.O.A.T, the greatest of all time.
This comes on the heels of the recent passing of legendary voice actor Kevin Conroy, who voiced the character of "Batman" for roughly 30 years. Two staples, hell two institutions of my childhood are gone and it's absolutely horrible.
Power Rangers Fame
Jason David Frank came into his fame early on in "Power Rangers" history. The original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers debuted in 1993 and it was a massive success. The show centered around 5 "teenagers with attitude" who were hand picked by the intergalactic being Zordon, to defeat the evil Rita Repulsa.
Frank was introduced early on in the first season and played the role of "Tommy Oliver". Frank's character after being controlled and brainwashed by the antagonist, he would become the evil Green Ranger, a weapon to destroy the Power Rangers. However, due to massive popularity of the character, the Green Ranger and Frank were chosen to stay and not only stay but switch sides from evil to good and inevitably become the leader of the "Power Rangers".
Over the years, JDF would go to play many different versions of different Power Rangers in numerous different series over the course of more than two decades. He started out as the villain and built a legacy as Tommy Oliver and impacted thousands upon thousands of fans around the world.
In recent years, JDF was still synonymous with his Power Rangers persona as he attended numerous different fan expo's, panels, cons and events. He spent much of his time recently promoting his edgier, darker Power Rangers related movie, Legend of the White Dragon, which up to this point had a 2023 release scheduled. He also had a brief run as a professional MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Fighter, fighting five times in 2010 and posting an undefeated 5-0 record.
What We Know As Of Now
At the time of this writing, the cause of death is being ruled as a "suicide" however that is not certain as the situation continues to be investigated. The only direct confirmation regarding the situation right now was from Frank's manager Justine Hunt, who confirmed the star's passing, but gave no explanation for what caused it. Hunt would go on to say and ask the public for...
privacy of his family and friends during this horrible time as we come to terms with the loss of such a wonderful human being.
Frank is survived by his four children. Three of his children came from his first marriage while his last child came from his most recent marriage. It is worth noting that Frank was currently in the midst of a divorce with his 2nd wife, which she had filed for back in August of this year. Whatever the case is, at the end of the day I know one thing. All fans around the world will miss JDF. Condolences go out to family and friends affected by this tragedy.
Below is the intro song for the original Mighty Morphing Power Rangers