Remembering Jason David Frank
A legend gone too soon.
On November 19, 2022, the world lost one of the kindest and coolest souls ever to exist. First starring as Tommy Oliver in the 1990’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers series, Jason David Frank went on to have a fairly successful career, boasting appearances in over 270 episodes of the Mighty Morphin’ franchise, including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the 2017 remake aptly titled Power Rangers.
JDF, as his fans called him, played many versions of his iconic characer, including the evil Green Ranger, the angelic White Ranger, the Red Turbo and Zeo Rangers, the Black Dino Ranger, and the all-powerful Lord Drakkon. When he wasn’t announcing his transformations on the eponymous kid’s show, he trained in MMA, even winning his first and only professional match under the moniker “Fearless” back in 2010.
With a Kickstarter film set to release in 2023 called Legend of the White Dragon, additionally starring the talents of Mark Dakascos and Michael Madsen, JDF’s more recent works include his time as Valiant Comics’ Bloodshot in YouTube’s Ninjak vs the Valiant Universe…
…and his reprisal as Tommy Oliver in Super Power Beatdown’s White Ranger vs Scorpion…
…as well as Green Ranger vs Ryu!
As you can see, the man was dedicated and passionate about his craft. However, though the late legend seemingly lived an epic and fruitful life, he, unbeknownst to the world, suffered from depression due to personal issues, which caused him to take his own life. It truly saddens me to see yet another unique talent fall to suicide, and I think there needs to be more awareness in preventing it. Life is precious, and it’s time we all started realizing it.
To conclude this ode to Jason David Frank, I’d like to share a brief memory I had of my childhood hero. It was October ’14. My brother, mother, cousin, and I all went to the New York Comic-Con. I, of course, dressed in a White Ranger t-shirt, with one goal in mind: meeting Tommy Oliver himself.
As I waited on the rather lengthy line in front of a panel that also included Hulk Hogan and Giancarlo Esposito, a number of Putty Monsters from the classic Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers walked about JDF’s line and terrorized all of us. In an unforgettable moment of showmanship, JDF appears out of nowhere to fight off the monsters and flips one of them onto the floor, spouting his signature catchphrase:
“AHN-TSU-BAH!”
The crowd cheered and applauded as the line finally began to move. At last, I stood face-to-face with the G.O.A.T. with sweaty palms and nerves of butter. As our meeting ended, and we took our picture (seen below), I told him it was nice to meet him, then walked away with a big smile on my face. You know how they say, “Never meet your heroes”? Well, I’m sure glad I met mine.
Remember: if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1–800–273–8255, which is available 24/7, free of charge. Have a blessed day everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
