In 1993, a series was unearthed from the hallmarks of Japan's media grave yard. This show was from the series of Sentai, live action children's shows, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger; Power Rangers, based on previously mentioned series and even taking footage from most of their fights in the third and fourth seasons, was born. Apparently, it was a marketing genius and reached the mouths of the American mainstream almost overnight. Over 15 years of the same rise and fall of rangers has lead to many successive spin-off, but not so much successful as it used to be, due to the lack of good plot or effects worth-while for the audience that grew up with it.
Anyway, for the original 4 seasons we all know and love, people become curious why "That one actor looks familiar, but I can't quite remember where their from..." or, my personal favorite, "OMFG THE MOTHA' Truckin' PINK RANGER!".
Here is a list of the actors of the originals and their now seen futures:
The Red Ranger (Jason Lee Scott ): Played by Austin St. John; St. John currently is floating from acting to other outlets like sports, after moving in out of the role of a power ranger (be it he also came back in the Power Rangers: Zeo Series as the Gold Ranger and in Turbo: a Power Rangers Movie) He and fellow cast member Walter Jones (the Black Ranger) maintain a close friendship today. They both appeared at the Power Morphicon, the first Power Rangers convention, which took place in Los Angeles in June of 2007. Currently, Austin is a paramedic in the Washington DC suburbs of Northern Virginia.
The Yellow Ranger (Trini Kwan): Played by Thuy Trang; Trang is deceased as of 2001 from a car accident in the California area, apparently the work of both her and the driver's lack of seat belt and the driver's negligence.
The Blue Ranger (William "Billy" Cranston): Played by David Yost; In 1995, Yost had a minor role in the film Ladykiller. In 2000, he portrayed a Playboy photographer in the made for TV movie After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped. He also was an associate producer for another made for TV movie, The Mary Kay Letourneau Story that same year. In 2001, he first tried his hand at producing, working on the series Alien Hunter and Temptation Island, but has not been seen in front of the camera in some four years. He worked as the director of production for Sci-Fi Lab, headed by the Sci-Fi Channel. Yost then was the manager of licensing for Pioneer Entertainment where he sold completed television shows and films to such networks as Showtime, Starz/Encore and Cartoon Network.
In 2002, Yost performed in a play called Fallen Guardian Angels at "the complex" located in Los Angeles for APLA (AIDS Project Los Angeles). The play was about six actors dealing with the AIDS virus in different various situations. The proceeds went to benefit The Children's Hospitals AIDS Center. The entire production raised over $25,000 and Yost himself raised $5,000 for the hospital and received good reviews from LA Weekly Theatre. In 2004, he worked as a field producer for a UK documentary series called You Are What You Eat. Yost plans on continuing his producing and eventually wants to act on screen again. (courtesy of Wikipedia)
The Pink Ranger (Kimberly Hart): Played by Amy Jo Johnson; remains an actress and randomly spot herself in made for TV movies (Lifetime or otherwise), but she is currently known for her role as Julie Emrick on the WB Show, Felicity. In 1998, Johnson played the part of a vampire in the cult indie movie Cold Hearts. Soon after, she was invited to play the second most notable role of her acting career: Julie Emrick, a college freshman who becomes the best friend of the lead actress of The WB series Felicity. She was in the series for two and a half years. Her character in the series was originally cast as a dancer, but Johnson managed to convince the producers to turn the role into that of a singer and guitarist, which eventually led Johnson to being able to play a song of her own composition, entitled "Puddle of Grace." The song was added to the show's official soundtrack. Her talent in music also led her to star in the movie Sweetwater: A True Rock Story, a biography about the life of singer Nansi Nevins, whose band Sweetwater opened the Woodstock festival.
Johnson then took roles in a number of indie movies, namely Interstate 60, Pursuit of Happiness and Hard Ground. She also had a role in the final season of the television crime drama The Division. She released her debut album, titled The Trans-American Treatment, and performs live in the Los Angeles area alongside "The Amy Jo Johnson Band". She later dropped the band and limited the instrumental presence in her shows to her acoustic guitar and her voice. She released another album titled Imperfect on March 2005.
(courtesy of Wikipedia)[
In 2006, Johnson co-starred in Magma: Volcanic Disaster, a Sci-Fi Channel original made for TV movie. She played a college student who begged to go on an expedition. Johnson has also taken roles on ABC Family's original show Wildfire as famous jockey Tina Sharp, and appeared in the pilot and recurring episodes of What About Brian. She has also taken on roles from two new independent films, "Veritas, Prince of Truth" and "The Islander". Most recently, Amy continued her run on What About Brian as Karen, who is Brian's annoying girlfriend.
She was not a guest at the Power Morphicon in June 2007. However, a few of her former castmates and many Power Rangers fans attending the convention frequently mentioned her, and several video clips featured her as her character, Kimberly, and as herself.
In December 2007 she contributed guest vocals to Koishii and Hush's cover of The Cars track "Since You're Gone". ]
The Black Ranger (Zackary "Zack" Taylor): Played by Walter Emanuel Jones;Jones had major roles in the independent movies, The Dogwalker and Backyard Dogs. He has appeared in other well-known productions, including a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the episode "Fear, Itself" and the Disney Channel Original Movie, Brink!. He also appeared as Harlan Band in the Nickelodeon series Space Cases, his second role as a main character and as a teenager. He guest starred in an episode of Family Matters as Kissel, and portrayed a supporting character in the first season of The Shield named Rondell Robinson, a drug dealer.
Jones also had a major role in the backyard wrestling movie Backyard Dogs, which spent time as the lowest-rated movie on the Internet Movie Database. As of July 2007 it is no longer on the list as it was straight-to-video. Jones provided the voice of a main character in the video game Freedom Fighters; he played a character known as The Kid.
Most recently, he appeared briefly as a salsa dance instructor on Age of Love.
I would like to pay tribute to this great milestone in media history.
TRIBUTE...
I could rant about this, but I'm merely reporting what you didn't know.
BOOYAKASHA!!!!
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