Jason David Frank, the hands-down face of the Power Rangers franchise, has been confirmed to have died of suicide in Texas on Sunday morning. Not much further information was released, however, his rep, Justine Hunt, did confirm his passing. His family has not yet released a statement, but friends, fans, and co-workers, including his fellow Power Rangers cast members have released memorials on various social media outlets.
Frank’s trainer and close friend, Mike Bronzoulis, took to Facebook to memorialize the actor:
Walter Emmanuel Jones, who starred opposite Frank in the first two seasons of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as Zack Taylor the Black Ranger, posted:
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Frank, known by fans as “JDF,” joined the Power Rangers franchise in the first season as the dark horse, Tommy Oliver. He would become the Green Ranger, originally a villain and pawn of the series Big Bad, Rita Repulsa. Tommy’s arc was meant to only last for 14 episodes (partially due to the fact that the Green Ranger in the original Japanese series, Super Sentai, died and there wasn’t a lot of footage of that version). However, Jason David Frank became the breakout star and soon eclipsed the popularity of the original cast members.
Although Frank was attached to star in another Saban series VR Troopers and had even filmed a pilot, he was then called upon to return to Power Rangers. After another run as the Green Ranger, Tommy later became the White Ranger and assumed leadership of the team.
Jason David Frank and his costars starred in a big-screen film version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and most of the American cast remained as the TV series transitioned to Power Rangers Zeo. For this version, Frank’s Tommy became the Red Zeo Ranger. Most of that cast also carried over when the show became Power Rangers Turbo, with Tommy remaining as the Red Ranger. This iteration also got a theatrical film release, but with a much smaller budget and performing much worse. The existing cast departed midway through Turbo.
But Frank’s popularity with the fanbase led to him returning in special episodes and even returning to the cast full-time in later iterations. He reunited with Austin St.John and eight other former Red Rangers in the Power Rangers Wild Force 10th-anniversary special “Forever Red.”
He came back full time for 2004’s Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, this time as the Black Dino Ranger and made another appearance as the Green Ranger for the finale episode of Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
Over the years, Frank remained committed to martial arts, owning multiple studios and even embarking on a career in mixed martial arts.
However, Frank remained committed to the Power Rangers fanbase and was a regular guest on the convention circuit. And among those fans, he remained the most consistent “face” of the brand. As a result, he and original cast member Amy Jo Johnson (Kimber the Pink Ranger) made a brief cameo in the big-budget 2017 reboot of Power Rangers.
Though Frank posited the idea of a project focusing on some iteration of Tommy Oliver, he returned for ten episodes of Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel in honor of the brand’s 25th anniversary, before announcing that he was retired from the franchise in 2022.
Earlier this year, Netflix announced plans to film a Power Rangers reunion special. It isn’t clear if Frank participated.
Frank married his first wife in 1994 and had two sons, Hunter and Jacob, and a daughter, Skye. They were divorced in 2001. In 2003, he married his second wife, Tammie, and they had a daughter, Jenna. Tammie filed for divorce earlier this year.
Of course, Power Rangers came to prominence in the early 1990s on the FOX network, alongside another groundbreaking show, Batman: The Animated Series. The news of Frank’s passing comes just over a week after that of Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for a generation.
Our thoughts go out to his family and of course, the millions of Power Rangers fans around the world. Stay tuned for more news as it emerges.
