R.I.P. Jason David Frank
 

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It is with great sadness that Jason David Frank, best known for playing Tommy Oliver in the Power Rangers franchise committed suicide at 49. A representative for the actor has confirmed it and so have various Power Rangers alumni. He has been a childhood hero to so many people including me and my best friend. R.I.P. :cry:

'POWER RANGERS' JASON DAVID FRANK
DEAD BY SUICIDE AT 49

Here are other sources.

https://www.theilluminerdi.com/2022/...nk-dead-at-49/

https://geekireland.com/has-power-ra...id-frank-died/

Very surprised to see this on Facebook this morning. Frank had accumulated a somewhat small but excited following from the Valiant comics community just for appearing as a great-looking Bloodshot in a promotional movie that was shot for the I.P. several years ago.

To be honest, his low budget Bloodshot looked better on-screen than any single from the Vin Diesel movie did. Vin Diesel did an entire Vin Diesel movie called "Bloodshot" as Vin Diesel, but Frank was on-screen as Bloodshot for maybe 1 minute and was Bloodshot.

It is so eerie that I met two of my childhood icons, Adam West and Jason David Frank, at Fan Expo Dallas the same weekend in 2017 and now they are the first two celebrities I've met who are dead.

It's really tragic when it happens this way, first Thuy Trang died in a horrific car accident, now this. Well, may you rest well in heaven Jason David Frank, and say hello to Thuy Trang when you're there.

If you watch any episode of Power Rangers on Youtube tonight, watch Dino Thunder's "Fighting Spirit", it's a perfect tribute to him, the end hits different now.

RIP

Does anyone suspect why he did it?

I don't know but some are supecting it may have to do with his recent divorce.

Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly Hart, Pink Ranger) released a statement.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClMgFbQu4hY/

The divorce was apparently very ugly.

https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/23/power...fair-adultery/

I was watching some old interviews from the 2010s, he credited his now ex-wife with getting him into religion after his brother died in 2001. Falling out with her might have been enough to shatter his faith.

The "falling out" looks like he was caught cheating, his wife threatened (and possibly did) to take the farm and then this happened.

such sad news.

This month just isn't getting any better. First Kevin Conroy and now JDF. Man, rest in piece. You were a sweet man who I wished I could've met.

Awful news. I literally gasped when I read it.

Got to meet him a couple of years ago, and, while I know that the faces we wear in public often belie what's going on in our heads/hearts, he really seemed like a genuinely well-put together person; always inspiring others with kind words and laughter. I guess we never really know the level of other's pain.

I hope that he (being one of my all-time heroes) has peace, thoughts and prayers for his family.

Amy Jo Johnson did a Livestream and it was heartbreaking. You can truly see how much emotional pain she's feeling. :cry:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/ClO6d2bJ6J9/

She's right that there are ways out of this situation and taking your life isn't one of them.

Without a doubt, this sucks. It might be hard watching anything with him in it after this.

One of my cousins took her life back in June, and it's something you never expect to happen in your family.

May he rest in peace.

Been a Green Ranger fan my whole life, started following the guy on Facebook when he started working with batinthesun and he just seemed like such a bright and positive guy who took being a celebrity seriously by being a role model. I've always heard how great he was with his fans and I know he was a man of faith so it just feels like such a gut punch to know how it ended. This whole thing has just been so surreal. I saw him trending that midnight hoping it was a hoax because of how out of left field it was but as the night continued, it just seemed less and less likely to be one.

I heard about the divorce and that he cheated months ago, and she apparently wanted to take the house and car. It's hard to imagine he'd take his life over fortune, so I can only imagine what kind of demons he was struggling with. I know he missed his brother very much and always posted about him, and I think his mom died a while ago as well. What I didn't know was that his step daughter had committed suicide just last year which could have factored into his marital issues. But as religious as he was, I wonder if the whole spiraling situation just broke him.

People who score high on religiosity scales sometimes begin to interpret the "infinite forgiveness" in a manner that suits themselves. By order of events, they then rationalize the "going to a better place" to actually enable the suicide. I'm an Irish-Catholic guy, but even I know that this is why the "suicide = instant hell" was adopted by the church. It was the only way to counter "infinite forgiveness" for anything.

It's unlikely he needed a way out because he felt "destitute". More likely that the series of cascading events painted an inescapable picture to him for personal psychology xyz.

That's why I brought up his family. He could have seen suicide as a way of reuniting with the loved ones he lost, especially in what can be perceived as his lowest moment spiritually. It's just hard to make sense of any of it because how bad could his divorce really have been for him to take his life? That is assuming that was the cause of it. It just sucks when the people you least expect end up being the one to take their own life. Even more tragic considering I think he had tried to reach out to some friends before he did it too.

YYYup.

I wonder if more will come out about the situation with time, or if that's pretty much that.

I would've thought the mere belief in the existence of "infinite punishment" (which I don't believe in) is what's used to justify countering belief in "infinite forgiveness".

Could be the guilt of what he did and how he basically blew his own life up for no good reason was too much to bear. Like, he didn't HAVE to get divorced and lose everything, he made a choice. He clearly expected to get away with it, he didn't, and the consequences were more than he could handle. And there was nobody else to blame, he did it to himself.

It's sad but life is nothing but a game of Choices and Consequences.

Well, I'm not sure where what I said there deviated from what you are saying, but as a matter of semantics I suppose you wouldn't counter the belief system within the same hierarchal system of religion - but you would set up extreme rules to find the balance to guide unruly people. What I'm saying is that a religion paints itself into a corner with "infinite forgiveness" because that can then be used by believers to justify any action - even suicide.

But, for a variety of reasons, you can't have people killing themselves every time the going gets tough, self-justified by "I'll be forgiven". And so you then implement the "suicide is immediate and enduring assignment to hell" to remedy that problem. It's reviewed and cherry-picked out for keeps as chosen by Bishops during something like the Council of Nicaea.

They craft these justifications for the population and then find ways to explain it in church to avoid paradoxical thinking. Every religion does it - it's not just Catholicism.

Here are his top 10 moments from the franchise according to Watch Mojo.

TMZ revealed more information. He had two arguments with his ex on the night he hung himself. She was in the room next to him when it happened, she called the police but it was too late.

Her instagram is getting pretty savaged.

Ooof I'd imagine. Probably blasted by every Power Rangers fan ever.

She was in the room? Why didn't she stop him?

No, she was in the room next to him. She was locked out of his room. Wild that people have the nerve to attack her.

The TMZ article explains it, they checked into a hotel, got separate rooms next to each other. JDF wouldn't let her in and he hung himself in the hotel room bathroom.


I did not know until I saw the RadarOnline article about his stepdaughter, married with a kid of her own and took her life 13 months ago. That had to have played into it.


I get there is martial breakdown, but the most uplifting and encouraging of people, a real-life inspiration took his own life. I thought a costar of his was in worse place. A coworker, who thought even more of JDF at my peak fandom, got involuntary relocated to fill a position May 2021 so I enlisted JDF on Cameo to lift his spirits. We can help others slay demons, but we cannot defeat our own. I sincerely hope my former coworker doesn't see this tragic response to the pain Jason was feeling as hypocritical as it's completely the opposite of who he is.



His sons, but especially Jenna getting caught up in all this as heartsick as I am I pray for them.

Oh, my bad, I misunderstood. They got hotel rooms and everything, did they make plans to go somewhere? It's so bizarre how one moment someone can be (apparently) okay, and then they break down and do something like this. No matter how many times I see it or hear about it, I'll always find it disturbing. Can't even imagine the pain JDF must've been feeling to want out so badly. Poor man... May he find peace.

The official Power Rangers Twitter did a tribute to him.

https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1...on-david-frank

Which makes them f*cking losers and horrible people. I can't say I'm surprised, considering how easy it is for people to hero-worship someone simply because they watched them on a TV show when they were little, but it's stupid. People NEED to stop doing that, especially when it leads them to condemn or attack others as an extension of their fanaticism.

First of all, let me be perfectly clear: It sucks the guy killed himself. Trust me when I say that not a single person on this forum understands suicidal urges more than me. I empathize greatly. I wasn't a fan, frankly I hated the show, but he seemed like an okay guy and I know that for whatever reason he was more than just an actor on a kids' show to a lot of people.

BUT. If there's a victim in this situation, it's his ex-wife, along with his surviving family. HE chose to cheat on her, and we have NO idea how far his infidelities went; for all anyone knows she might have found out he'd had dozens or even hundreds of affairs, but to be blunt even "just once" is too many, which is exactly why it is grounds for divorce in every state with no other factors being necessary. He violated his supposedly "sacred" marriage vows, which makes HIM the villain of the story. There's no law against being a philanderer, but if a person insists on being a tomcat there is a very simple solution: Do Not Get Married.

No matter what any of his fans think, he was not OWED any measure of forgiveness from her, and if he chose to kill himself because of how she chose to handle his screw-up, that too is entirely on Him and no one else.

Contrary to what people say, it is in fact VERY easy NOT to cheat on your partner. The problem is it involves caring more about Them then your own selfish momentary satisfaction, and frankly most people are only ever sorry they got caught doing a bad thing, they're not sorry they did the bad thing, hardly ever. Too many people try and justify it; "Well c'mon, he was rich and famous, he had women constantly throwing themselves at him! What was he supposed to do, NOT cheat on his wife?!" Uh... yes. And it's rather disconcerting to see out loud just how many people would absolutely cheat on their OWN wife/husband if they got the chance, given how easily they jump to defend others who cheat. Just because you'd do it too does not make it "okay".

Now, does it make him a terrible and irredeemable person? No. Does it make him at least kind of a scumbag? Absolutely. How much of one, though, depends greatly on how remorseful he was or wasn't, which we will never truly know. Did he kill himself because he knew he ruined his own life for no good reason and just couldn't live with the guilt? If so, it's sh*tty but also somewhat admirable, since it would have come from a place of genuine remorse. Did he kill himself just because his ex refused to give him back his house and cars? If so, then he's a coward. I am sorry he is dead but "I miss my mansion" is not a good reason to kill yourself. Sadly, we'll never truly know which was the greater motivating factor, but it sounds more and more like the latter, I'm sad to say.

Regardless, those berating and blaming HER should be ashamed of themselves. How DARE she expect her husband to take his marriage seriously. How DARE she not want to get the clap from him after he gets done f*cking some road rat skank at Comic-Con. The NERVE of her to want her husband to be an actual husband. :roll: I'm sorry but a ton of his fans are scumbags if attacking her is what they resort to in order to express their grief. It's trash behavior. Just because a guy wore a gaudy costume on a kids' show almost 30 years ago does not make him Jesus Christ. People need to reexamine their values.
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All of that said, I'm having more and more questions about this whole deal, such as what were they BOTH doing at a hotel together getting adjacent rooms considering the nastiness of the divorce proceedings? As well as the fact that at one point some time ago, she had a restraining order placed against him.

There's really only two options: Either they had informally discussed some sort of reconciliation, OR they wanted to peacefully negotiate a more mutually-beneficial splitting of assets; in either case, the hotel would have been "neutral ground". So they either went there to talk about patching things up, OR to try and amicably split up their property without more lawyers getting involved. Either way, it clearly blew up and went wrong in a hurry, and so he did what he did.

What I strongly suspect happened is, he went there HOPING she would cave in and give him back the house if he sweet-talked her, she wasn't falling for it, and so he threw a fit and acted impulsively in the heat of the moment. I could very well be wrong but putting all of the pieces together, This scenario makes the most sense to me.

And offing himself could be one last way to get back at her, saddle her with new, undue guilt. Last tool in the belt.

I dunno, I'm like Leo. Hated that show, hated Power Rangers-mania but I get he's a likeable dude who was good to the fans.

Yep. "I'll show you!" Happens all the time.

Had a cousin who killed himself for similar reasons. Emptied out our mutual cousin's bank account and spent all the money on drugs. Begged her to forgive him, said "He just had a problem," the usual. She said "Maybe I can forgive you one day, but not yet," so he blew his head off. Similar spiteful/impulsive reaction.

The only way we'll ever know more is if the ex-wife decides to spill some tea, and seeing as how she's already being demonized by manchildren and morons I'm not expecting her to say much of anything for a very long time, if ever.

Does anyone else think maybe Amy Jo was one of the ones he was cheating with? I know their actual fling was decades ago, but they always seemed a little "too happy" to see each other and plenty of people do that "hook up on the sly for old times' sake" deal. I'unno, would not shock me one bit.

I wrote this to help process the loss of our childhood hero.


Soul of the Selfless
Many a grown man cried, for their childhood hero had died.
By his own hand, leaving no one to understand.
A force of encouragement and strength for which he drew he saved countless lives,if he only knew.
A monster of his own design defeated him after the countless wars he won for others, who thanks to him are strong brothers, mothers, and lovers.
A knight to those in need, the world failed to heed, forwhat himself was in need.
Though he is gone, what he did throughout his life carries on, for he shalt be honored for his sacrifices and the way he went out not obscure what in life he stood for.
A tiger so fierce, a dragon of might, whether he is present or not he taught the world how to carry on the fight.

Jason David Frank 1973-2022

Here is the same tribute from the official Power Rangers Youtube channel.




He and Amy Jo were never an item while the show was airing. He was married at the time with a baby. In fact, the baby in the 'The Ninja Encounter' episodes was his actual son. Amy Jo divorced someone back in 2017, and recently she was dating someone new according to her social media. I don't know if they are still together or not.

Doesn't mean much.

I've heard otherwise from several people who were there, but I guess only he and she would ever have known for sure.

I mean if there's one thing we know about the guy for a fact, it's that being married wasn't enough to keep him from having sex with other people. I'd say that when he was a young, hormonal 20-something it would have been even more likely.

I'm not gonna name names but it's one of those things I've heard spoken of so many times by "in the know" people that I always assumed it was common knowledge. Could be a rumor though, I guess; I'm just saying.

I only ever watched the very first season of Power Rangers because I was a dumb kid in the early 90's and never stuck with the franchise, but I remember him well. I think people just don't remember how huge Power Rangers was, it was just as big or bigger than Turtlemania (it in fact killed the original TMNT fad), and the only thing that got bigger afterward was of course Pokemon.

To many 90's kids he was a childhood hero, and it is sad to see him go. Most power rangers fans from that time are of course now around 30 years old, so to a lot of 30 year olds he was someone they looked up to as kid.

It's just that when Amy Jo Johnson started doing conventions in the mid-2010s, I watched some of her panels I thought more than once that she saying things like, "Nothing was going on between us. He was married with a kid. Who gets married and has a kid at 20? That's crazy!"

The answer to her question would be "Impulsive people who make poor decisions." Her quote also sounds like a deflection. But again, I wasn't there. ((Shrug))