Yahoo News Original Power Rangers Amy Jo Johnson and David Yost share sweet memories of late costars
They also recalled being asked to shoot during the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake.
It was the best of times, it was the morph of times.
The Pink and Blue Rangers, Amy Jo Johnson and David Yost, reunited on April 28 to reminisce about their time on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. During their Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo panel, the pair discussed fond memories of fellow original Power Rangers, Jason David Frank, who died by suicide in 2022, and Thuy Trang, who died in a 2001 car accident.
Johnson recalled reconnecting with Frank on the set of the 2017 Power Rangers reboot, in which both actors had a cameo. "I remember we hadn't seen each other in a very long time," she said. "We had a blast, and it was really cool to watch him on that set. We would wrap, and they'd be like, 'Okay, Jason and Amy can go home,' and he wouldn't go home. He'd stay on that set and watch until they fully wrapped, like 12 hours later. He just loved the franchise so much."
While that was a rare return to the Power Rangers universe for Johnson, Frank resurfaced repeatedly. He had a recurring role as Tommy Oliver in the 2004 series Power Rangers DinoThunder, lent his voice to video games, and made cameo appearances in newer series like Power Rangers Ninja Steel and Power Rangers HyperForce.
"I always thought he was harassing me," Yost joked. "It's like, I gotta get more into this film. That's why he's hanging around the set."
He continued, "Jason was obviously a very talented person. He's probably one of the smartest people I've ever met. I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but he's not here to beat me up anymore: He didn't finish high school, and I've always been amazed at how intelligent he was as a business person. I meet a lot of people that go to Harvard and all these Ivy League schools, and they have these business degrees, but they could never compete with the way that he was. I was always impressed by his ethic in terms of work in building a brand and building who he was."
Johnson added, "He had rock-star energy, like on set when he would get on his ATV...and then ride off into the distance, and we'd see him going over the horizon while we're shooting... They're like, 'Where's Jason?' And then maybe 15 minutes later, this little spec would come over the horizon, and here he comes."
Daniel Boczarski/Getty
Amy Jo Johnson and David Yost at C2E2Later in the panel, Johnson and Yost shifted to memories of their time with Trang, before her death at 27.
"She was awesome to work with. She became a very dear friend of mine," Johnson said before sharing a story about the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake. "One of my favorite memories is, during the earthquake, she was sleeping over... Thuy was sleeping in my bed, and we woke up and it sounded like nuclear war was happening. And we sat in the doorway, and we both prayed in our own ways and then lit candles on a gas stove."
Shortly after the tremors subsided, the young actors were called into work. "The power's out all throughout the city," Yost recalled, "freeways have collapsed, and our phones are ringing somehow, saying, 'You guys, you have to come to work.'
"The mayor of Los Angeles is saying, do not leave your house, but you need to come in through that now," he continued. "So, we all drove down there, and inside the studio, the ceiling had fallen down, and we were getting ready in the dark, and they're trying to find a generator to get power. And, finally, after about five hours, they said, 'Yeah, We can't do this.' It was really crazy."
Looking back at the harrowing experience, Johnson simply concluded, "At least we were all together."
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