Jason David Frank dead: who was Tommy from Power Rangers, is cause of death known, tributes to Green Ranger

Jason David Frank, who portrayed Green Power Ranger Tommy Oliver on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers children’s television series in the 1990s, has died. He was 49.

Frank’s manager, Justine Hunt, did not specify the cause or date of death, but requested privacy “during this horrible time as we come to terms with the loss of such a wonderful human being.”

Frank was born in September 1973 in Covina, California. In 1994, he married his first wife Shawna Frank, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. In 2001, they divorced. He married his second wife Tammie in 2003, and the couple had one daughter.

Here is everything you need to know.

Who was Jason David Frank?

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, a show about five teenagers tasked with saving the world from evil, debuted on Fox in 1993 and quickly became a pop-culture phenomenon.

Frank’s Tommy Oliver character was portrayed as a villain in the first season, brainwashed by the wicked Rita Repulsa. However, he was eventually recruited into the squad as the Green Ranger, and became one of the show’s most popular characters.

Although his role was not supposed to be permanent, Frank was eventually reintroduced as the White Ranger and squad leader. Frank went on to play several Power Rangers characters throughout the franchise, including a Red Zeo Ranger in Power Rangers Zeo, and the first-ever Red Turbo Ranger in Power Rangers Turbo.

His other notable appearances in the franchise include Power Rangers Wild Force, Power Rangers: DinoThunder and Power Rangers Ninja Steel.

Frank’s acrobatic abilities were not the result of movie magic, and as a real-life martial arts practitioner, he also competed in multiple mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts in 2009 and 2010.

Frank collected the most practical applications from many different styles of martial arts and modified them with his own philosophies to create his own blend of American Karate, called Toso Kune Do.

He first began opening martial arts schools in 1994, where he taught his new, self-created fighting method. In June 2003, he was inducted into the World Karate Union Hall of Fame.

Who has paid tribute?

Walter Emmanuel Jones, the original Black Power Ranger who co-starred with Frank in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, expressed his shock on Instagram.

“My heart is sad to have lost another member of our special family,” wrote Jones. Thuy Trang, the original Yellow Power Ranger, died in a car accident in 2001 at the age of 27.

How did he die?

Announcing the news of his death, Justine Hunt - Frank’s manager - did not specify the cause or the date of death, but asked for privacy “during this horrible time as we come to terms with the loss of such a wonderful human being.”

Frank leaves behind his two sons, Hunter and Jacob, as well as two daughters, Skye and Jenna.

Help is on hand for anyone affected by this issue:

• You can call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email them at [email protected], or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.