Rebuilding Rob

I heard on the news today that Jason David Frank, the actor who played Tommy in various Power Rangers series over the years passed away today. He was 49 years old. Just one year older than me.

It has been reported that he committed suicide. And although we’ve had countless examples of rich, famous, and successful people who have taken their own lives, this still once again has to serve as a reminder, but nobody is immune to devastating effects of depression.

I was never really a fan of Power Rangers. To be honest, it came on TV here in America a little bit after my time. I was 19 when it premiered in the fall of 1993. Even though I wasn’t fan, I was nearly impossible to be living in America in 1993 and not recognize how enormously the Power Rangers had become seemingly overnight.

We hear stories all the time about how actors struggle with fame. This seems to be magnified even more so when an actor is thrust into the spotlight seemingly overnight. The young actors became stars but certainly weren’t being paid as such. Like so many other hit television shows, the cast of Power Rangers signed multi-year contracts. The producers got a good deal: locking the actors in a relatively low pay, given how popular the franchise would become. 

In a 2017 open letter to Variety magazine, original Pink Ranger actress Amy Jo Johnson says “…this was a non-union television series and I was paid peanuts and almost died a few times because of the makeshift low-budget stunts we performed…” Granted, I’m taking this quote out of context, but this seems to be an accurate assessment of the working conditions for the original Power Rangers cast members.

In fact, it was pay that prompted original actors Thuy Trang, Walter Jones and Austin St. John to leave during the show’s second season. I can only assume that it would be a real mind-scramble to realize that while you are famous, you are also just an expendable cog in the machine. That is the lesson the 3 original rangers would soon learn.

As the show marched on, casts were recycle in and out faster than members of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. Frank and a few other cast members would return, usually for one-off appearances. After all, why pay established actors more money when you can replace them with fresh meat on the cheap?

Obviously, I’ve never been famous, so I can’t imagine how it must feel having that level of fame thrust upon you. Likewise, it must be equally surreal to have it disappear overnight. There are already rumors and speculation that his suicide was a result of Frank’s issues with depression. I know from my own experiences how paralyzing depression can be.  I cannot imagine compounding that with roller coaster of Hollywood fame.

Regardless of his reasoning, Jason David Frank is another name on the long list of people who got chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood machine. I think that such an experience could drive even the strongest-willed person to their breaking point.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:

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• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

The article “Requiem for a Power Ranger” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.