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Thanks to Kel‘s Plurk about Tommy The Green Ranger’s MMA debut (Tommy had been my super crushie and was the reason I got hooked on Power Rangers despite my misgivings about Americanized Sentai), I suddenly had the urge to find out what happened to the original actors.

Go Go Power Rangers!!!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgQhyquS9Ms]

Oh Em Gee! The heroes I looked up to are now in their late 30s to early 40s! Except for the original Yellow Ranger, Thuy Trang, who died in a car accident at age 27 in 2001. That’s sad. She may not have been my favorite, but she was still part of the original cast.

Back then, I actually just took note of three major characters and two of them weren’t even in the original line-up. So where are they now?

Austin St. John, the original Red Ranger

Hm. Rumors had circulated that he had become a pr0n star, but judging from the photo on the right…I kind of find that bit of info dubious. Despite the added weight, I still find his face to be the friendliest I’ve ever seen on TV and he still has that cherubic aura about him. He is now a paramedic and a firefighter. What a sweet guy!

Johnny Yong Bosch, the 2nd Black Ranger

Wow, this dude aged pretty well! I had found him cute back then but now he’s really HOT. In fact, I daresay that he seems to be the best looking Ranger now. (Yeah, I can feel the fangirl within me going all googly-eyed.)

Though Bosch had acquired a few films on his belt after his Ranger stint, most of his projects required his voice talent. (Can anyone here see the irony of hiding the most beautiful Ranger behind cartoon characters?) He is best known for giving soul to Trigun‘s Vash The Stampede.

Jason David Frank, the original Green Ranger

Well, the Green Ranger did not appear until episode 17 of the first season but Jason David Frank is like the only semi-permanent Power Ranger. He had gone through the most number of seasons and most number of costume colors. These were largely due to his popularity. One look at the left photo and you’ll understand why. (I did say earlier that he was the reason I got hooked.)

Having continuously received intensive martial arts training since childhood, he is now a mixed martial arts fighter and so far his record seems flawless. I can hardly recognize him anymore because he’s looking a bit scarier.

Here’s a clip of his debut as an MMA fighter.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlyLLNa92o]

I have a couple of questions about the Power Rangers series, though: When will they assign a female red ranger who’ll also serve as the leader? And when will they get a male pink ranger? I’d like to see at least one of those instances happen. Heh.

Photo credits:
fanpix.net
perfectpeople.net
wikipedia.org