Hollywood: “Power Ranger” Jason David Frank is dead

Jason David Frank, who played the Green Ranger and later the White Ranger in the popular 1990s children’s television series The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, died on Saturday. He was 49 years old. His manager Justine Hunt confirmed Frank’s death on Sunday, but has not yet provided any information on the cause of death.

In a statement, Hunt asked for respect for the privacy of his family and friends “during this terrible time,” and declined to comment further.

In the television series, six high school students in color-coordinated costumes transform into superheroes to defend Earth from evil aliens. Frank was originally scheduled to star in just ten episodes of the series as the Green Ranger, an evil-turned-good boy. However, he later returned as the White Ranger and then as other characters in reboots of the series, according to the IMDb bio.

He played the same character, Tommy Oliver, in six different versions of the Power Rangers franchise. According to IMDb, his character has appeared in more than 200 episodes of the series, more than any other Power Ranger. Frank also starred in the motion pictures Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) and Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997).

The series became a staple in pop culture

In August 1993, the Power Rangers line made its debut, and by December 1994, the Power Rangers’ share of the action figure market had increased from 4 percent to 40 percent, with product line sales that year approaching $1 billion. For comparison, sales of Cabbage Patch dolls and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, other popular toys of the period, were $550 million and $450 million, respectively.

According to IMDb, in 1994 Frank developed his own martial arts system called Toso Kune Domeaning “way of the fighting fist”.