What was Jason David Frank's net worth?
Jason David Frank was a professional mixed martial arts fighter and actor who had a net worth of $500 thousand at the time of his death. Jason David Frank first became widely known for playing Tommy, the green Power Ranger, in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." Between 1993 and 1996, he appeared in 124 episodes of the series. In 1995, he played the role in the first film version of the series, which earned $66 million worldwide on a budget of $15 million. He would later play Tommy again in "Power Rangers Zeo," in 50 episodes in 1996, and again in 19 episodes of "Power Rangers Turbo" in 1997. He continued to work in the "Power Rangers" universe in various iterations for the rest of his career. Outside of the "Power Rangers," Jason was an accomplished martial artist. He was a seventh-degree black belt and participated in a number of MMA events. He won many awards, including being named Master of the Year (American Karate) in 2003. Unfortunately, Jason David Frank died by suicide on November 20, 2022, at the age of 49.
Early Life
Frank was born on September 4, 1973 in Covina, California. He attended Bonita High School in La Verne, California. Throughout his youth, he was very interested in karate and other forms of martial arts and fighting. He became interested in acting shortly after his graduation.
Career
In 1993, Frank was cast as the character Tommy Green in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." His skills in martial arts were a factor in his being cast in the role. He played the Green Ranger in a role that had originally only been set to last 14 episodes. However, the character was so popular that he was brought back as the White Ranger, the new leader of the Power Ranger team. Before he was brought back to the show, he was supposed to play the lead character in "VR Troopers," but the role went to Brad Hawkins once Frank became the White Ranger.
After three seasons of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," the show transitioned into "Power Rangers Zeo." After the transition, Frank's character became the Red Zeo Ranger. The following year, Frank's character became the Red Turbo Ranger in "Power Rangers Turbo." However, midseason during the show, Frank and a few other cast members agreed to leave and were replaced in 1997.
After he left the series in 1997, Frank did come back to "Power Rangers" as the Red Zeo Ranger in 2002 for the special 10th anniversary episode called "Forever Red" in "Power Rangers Wild Force." The special brought back ten former Red Rangers.
He then reprised his role in 2004 in "Power Rangers Dino Thunder" as the Black Dino Ranger. While in this role, Frank was always shown in long-sleeved shirts in order to cover the tattoos on his arms. He also reprised his role as Tommy Oliver in the season finale of "Power Rangers Super Megaforce." He also expressed interest in developing a Green Ranger solo series after meeting Stan Lee at a comic book convention, though the idea was ultimately never developed.
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In November of 2013, Frank appeared on "Super Power Beatdown" as the White Ranger. In this role, he fought the character of Scorpion from "Mortal Kombat." He appeared on the series again in 2015. The success of "Super Power Beatdown" led to the development of a web reality series in 2015. In 2020, an idea for a film or mini-series called "Legend of the White Dragon" launched on Kickstarter. Popularity around the project grew, and it was developed into a feature film. The film featured Frank as well as other former Power Ranger characters like Ciara Hanna, Mark Dacascos, and Michael Madsen. The film wrapped in 2021 and is to be released in 2023.
Frank also provided the voice for a number of characters in video games. He voiced the White Ranger character in the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie" game in 1995. In 2004, he voiced Dr. Tommy Oliver in the game "Power Rangers Dino Thunder." In 2019, he voiced a number of characters in "Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid."
Outside of his film and television career, Frank also experienced success in fighting and martial arts. He was knowledgeable in many fighting styles, like Taekwondo, Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Aikido, among others. He ultimately drew from each of these styles to create his own blend of American Karate called Toso Kune Do. In June of 2003, he was inducted into the Karate Union Hall of Fame. Throughout his whole acting career, he continued fighting and competing in various competitions. He also opened up his own fighting school to help train youth in the style of fighting he developed.
In August of 2009, he officially signed with SuckerPunch Entertainment, a sports marketing and management company specializing in MMA. He also began training with UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard. Frank made his much anticipated MMA debut for the United States Amateur Combat Association in Houston, Texas, in 2010. He announced his professional debut in August of 2010 when he fought at heavyweight against Jose Roberto Vasquez. Frank won his pro fight in under one minute. Despite his promising beginning, Frank only participated in MMA fighting in 2010.
Personal Life and Death
In 1994, Frank married his first wife, Shawna. Together, the couple had two sons before divorcing in 2001 after seven years of marriage. In 2003, he married his second wife, Tammie. They had one daughter together. Tammie filed for divorce in 2022, but the couple was in the process of reconciling when Frank died.
Frank was found dead in a hotel in Houston, Texas, on November 19, 2022, at the age of 49. The cause of death was suicide. It was later reported that he had gotten into an argument with his wife, Tammie, the evening before he was found dead. He was laid to rest in Forest Lawn in his hometown of Covina, California alongside his brother and mother.
