The Power Rangers franchise is unique among the IPs aimed at children because it happens to be generational. Like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles before it, the brand has managed to sustain its popularity long enough that people in their 30s-40s grew up with it, while children today are attached to their own evolution of the series.
No matter what generation is watching, the Power Rangers represent heroism and teamwork, but the harsh reality is that it’s also a series of TV shows consisting of human beings playing roles. Once the TV is turned off, the performers go off to live their real lives, and what has been discovered about the brand is that there is a dark side to the Power Rangers that has led hardcore fans to believe there is a curse around the IP. Given the real-life tragedies that have struck those involved with the show, there actually might be some truth to that.
The Actors in Every ‘Power Rangers’ Series Were Paid Criminally Low Wages
Some of the Power Rangers’ harsh realities begin with the show itself and what can only be described as poor work conditions. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was a non-union production, which means that the original cast, consisting of Austin St. John (Red Ranger), Walter Emanuel Jones (Black Ranger), Amy Jo Johnson (Pink Ranger), Thuy Trang (Yellow Ranger) and David Yost (Blue Ranger) were paid extremely low wages (ranging from $600-$730 before taxes) yet had to work long hours in what some have described as a hostile work environment.
They were all young and aspiring actors and didn’t have agents or lawyers to look over their contracts, which also stated that creators Haim Saban and Shuki Levu, along with Fox, owned their likenesses and could use them to sell toys and other merchandise without having to give them a cut of that money. In addition, they did not receive royalty payments, so they also weren’t paid for any re-runs of the episodes they were featured in.
Three of the original rangers, St. John, Jones, and Trang, left the series over this issue and did get the same agent (Ingrid Wang) involved to fight for better contracts and pay, but they were swiftly replaced midway through the second season. Once ratings only got better following their departure, the producers decided that veterans of the show could stay as long as they desired, but newbies could be switched out every year with new actors to keep the brand fresh.
The pay issue plagued the brand in future iterations of the IP and never got better, with several actors complaining about their low pay, long hours, and their time outside the series going to events to promote the show. St. John once put the pay dilemma in a realistic perspective, making it clear that even though they were on a hit series, the money they were making didn’t match that.
“I could have worked a window at McDonald’s and probably made the same money the first season. It was disappointing, it was frustrating, it made a lot of us angry.”
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Other in-production issues with the series include allegations of homophobia from the show’s production staff. Yost began his run on the series when it started in 1993 but left during 1996’s Power Rangers Zeo because of homophobic slander from members of the production staff that allegedly led the actor to undergo conversion therapy to change his sexuality. Yost, who now lives happily as an out gay man, said that he walked off set one day after “he was called f*ggot one too many times.” He also alleged that producers would ask other cast members about their feelings regarding his sexuality, which only served to make him even more uncomfortable.
Sadly, life outside the Power Rangers universe is even more tragic, and the most apparent first case of that is the death of Trang, the original Yellow Ranger. At the age of 27, Trang died in a horrific car crash over Labor Day weekend in 2001. The actress was traveling with one of her best friends, Angela Lockwood, and was intended to be her bridesmaid at her upcoming wedding.
Other members of the cast have lost their lives, albeit by natural causes. Richard Genelle, who portrayed Ernie, the owner of the Angel Grove Youth Center in the series, suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 47 in 2008 following a battle with obesity. Robert L. Manahan, who voiced Zordon from 1993-1998, lost his life to a heart aneurysm at the age of 43, while Machiko Soga, who portrayed the Rangers’ arch nemesis Rita Repulsa, passed away in 2006, two years after she revealed her pancreatic cancer diagnosis. She was only 68 years old. None of these deaths add any validity to a curse since they were all from natural causes, but the tragedy here is that they were all relatively young and certainly had more life to live.
Some ‘Power Ranger’ Actors Have Tragically Taken Their Own Lives
Some of the biggest tragedies with the Power Rangers involve the heroes of the show succumbing to real-life demons that sadly drove them to suicide. Jason David Frank became extremely popular as Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger, a character who began as a villain in the series but was later made good to join the team. Frank proved so popular that he was ultimately brought back as the White Ranger when the Green Ranger was stripped of his powers. Between 1993 and 1996, Frank appeared on 124 episodes of the show, making him a veteran of the cast.
Sadly, Frank was battling his demons, which went back to his early 20s when he began his time on the series. In the recently released Hollywood Demons, which detailed the “Power Rangers curse,” various people from the history of the show were interviewed, and they hinted that Frank and his older brother, Erik, endured abuse as kids. They combated this by getting into martial arts to channel some of their issues, and they both pursued careers in acting.
Jason would go on to land Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. However, Erik struggled greatly to get work, but his fortunes seemed to turn when he was given the opportunity to portray David Trueheart in Power Rangers Zeo, the long-lost brother of Tommy Oliver. It was a five-episode story arc that Erik hoped would turn into a longer run, but it never happened. His career never took off the same way as his brother’s, which was made more stressful by being a young father and husband. Sadly, Erik took his own life by hanging himself in 2001 at the age of 29.
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Jason struggled with his brother’s suicide, even blaming himself that he couldn’t do more to help him. However, Jason’s public persona painted a picture of someone who wanted to help others in a similar position. Not only did he play a hero on television, but he wanted to be a real-life hero to his fans who were struggling. It was a noble cause and something that endured him to a legion of fans, but he was bottling up his own issues, including an on-again-off-again relationship with his estranged wife, Tammie Frank, although they were attempting to reconcile following her filing for divorce.
Frank detailed that, over time, it seemed like Jason had a void she couldn’t fill no matter how hard she tried, and various actors who worked conventions with him could tell that he wasn’t the same guy who attended these events with great exuberance. During their final night together, the pair went to a bar until 2:00 AM and then headed back to their hotel room. Frank ultimately left to grab snacks, leaving Jason in the room alone, but when she was unable to gain access to the room because she had left her key, someone from the front desk let her in, where they found Jason dead in the hotel bathroom with a cord around his neck. 21 years after his brother committed suicide, Jason killed himself in a similar fashion.
The pressures of fame and maintaining some kind of success following being on a kid television series seem to break some of the actors who have appeared on the show. Pua Magasiva, who appeared on Power Rangers Ninja Storm as the Red Ranger, took his life in 2019, 16 years after appearing on the series. Magasiva also had his fair share of demons, and it was learned after his death that he had a history of violence, including domestic abuse against his wife. 15 days before his suicide, Magasiva was convicted of domestic assault against his wife, and she even stated that he violently attacked her the night he passed away while in a drunken stupor.
Some Former ‘Power Ranger’ Actors Have Engaged in Criminal Activity
There have even been cases where a former Power Ranger has inflicted harm on another person, resulting in their death. Ricardo Medina Junior portrayed Cole Evans in Power Rangers Wild Force and later appeared as Deker in Power Rangers Samurai. Medina was said to have a very anti-social personality, often retreating to his room with his girlfriend and allegedly making her stay in the room with him and not allowing her to talk to others. His unpredictable personality ultimately led to a night of violence where he allegedly stabbed his roommate, Joshua Sutter, on January 31, 2015.
Medina claimed he stabbed Sutter in self-defense during an altercation, but the weapon of choice is the first thing that makes these events unique. Medina stabbed Sutter with a medieval samurai sword and initially said that he only poked Sutter with the weapon. Despite the bloody scene, Medina was released, and it would take a full year for the former actor to be arrested once more investigation revealed that his self-defense claims were bogus. An autopsy report revealed that the sword went through Sutter’s abdomen and exited through his back, piercing his lung. This would not be the case if he merely poked the victim.
Medina faced a life sentence with a chance at parole after 26 years, but he ultimately reached a plea deal in 2017. The former Red Wild Force Ranger pleaded guilty to one felony count of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to a maximum of six years in prison. Medina was eventually paroled out after only serving three years.
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Other criminal activity involving a former Power Ranger dives into the world of alleged fraud. In 2022, St. John, the original Red Ranger, was indicted on criminal charges for taking advantage of the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the allegations, St. John was involved in a scheme that conspired to create or use existing businesses to fraudulently submit applications for Paycheck Protection funding.
The actor was put on pre-trial release following his indictment, which allowed him permission to leave the state of Texas only for work, including his convention appearances. In 2024, St. John accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to essentially defrauding the United States Government. The conditions of his plea deal weren’t readily available, and he hasn’t been sentenced to any prison time as of this writing.
So, is there a Power Rangers curse? It’s an interesting notion to speculate on, given that an abnormal amount of tragedy has surrounded the franchise, but realistically, this probably all comes down to coincidence. As we explore these circumstances, the child in us has to grow up and realize that even though these people portrayed superheroes on television, they were all human. Sometimes tragedy is just a part of life, whether you’re a Power Ranger or not. None of this darkness should taint your memories of the show and the joy it once brought you, especially when you consider that a long line of performers and other talent have worked on the series and are still living fulfilling lives. There is a dark side to everything, even to something capable of bringing you great joy. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is streaming on Tubi and Netflix.
