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David Harold Yost (; born January 7, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Billy Cranston in ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...
'', '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'', '' Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers'', ''
Power Rangers Zeo ''Power Rangers Zeo'' is a television series and the fourth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series ''Chouriki Sentai Ohranger''. It is the continuation of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and aired in 19 ...
'', '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always'' and '' Power Rangers Cosmic Fury''.


Early life

Yost was born in
Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...
. He moved around the United States while winning many national gymnastics competitions, most notably the state championships in
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
and
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
. In 1987, he graduated from Amador Valley High School in
Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is an upscale suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...
. In 1991, he graduated from Graceland University in
Lamoni, Iowa Lamoni is a city in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,969 at the time of the 2020 Census. Lamoni is the home of Graceland University, affiliated with the Community of Christ, a denomination of the Latter Day Saint move ...
with a Bachelor of Arts in communication and dramatic arts.


Career

Yost moved to California with hopes of becoming an actor, and won the part of Billy Cranston (Blue Power Ranger) in the television series ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...
'' three months after arriving. He starred in almost 200 episodes of the show's first four seasons. He was the only cast member to appear in every single episode of the original series; his character never changed his colors or passed on his power coins to successors like the rest of the original cast. Yost's most high-profile work was his appearance in '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' (1995), which took in over $60 million at the box office. The film served as a non-canonical alternate opening for the third season. After the show ended and ''
Power Rangers Zeo ''Power Rangers Zeo'' is a television series and the fourth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series ''Chouriki Sentai Ohranger''. It is the continuation of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and aired in 19 ...
'' began in the fourth season, Yost stayed on as Billy, but Billy's role within the show changed. Instead of his previous role as a Power Ranger, he became a technical advisor to the others. When asked about the change in a 2010 interview, Yost was evasive about how he'd personally felt about this but said he understood why the production team did it; he stated that
Haim Saban Haim Saban (; ; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli and American media proprietor, investor, musical composer and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an ...
was interested in the cast turnover of ''
Super Sentai The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...
'' and believes that this was part of it. Yost left the show toward the end of the ''Power Rangers Zeo'' season. His character's final episode employed footage from previous episodes and voice work from an uncredited actor to conceal the fact that Yost was not present during the taping. A tribute to his character was seen in the
closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...
of this episode. While it was originally believed that he had left the series due to insufficient pay, Yost later revealed in a 2010 interview that he left because he could no longer handle harassment by members of the production crew who targeted him over his sexual orientation. According to Yost, he was often called a "
faggot ''Faggot'', often shortened to ''fag'', is a Pejorative, slur in the English language that was used to refer to gay men but its meaning has expanded to other members of the queer community. In American youth culture around the turn of the 21s ...
", and the producers frequently questioned other cast members in private about his sexuality. Yost left late in the fourth season after a week of contemplation and thoughts of suicide instead of continuing work another six months into the second film. He stated that the co-workers involved with writing, filming, and producing the show considered him "not worthy" to be where he was and that he "could not be a superhero" because of his homosexuality. Scott Page-Pagter, a producer of the show starting with ''Power Rangers Zeo'', responded through
TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...
that Yost actually left over a pay bonus being dropped but did not elaborate further or dispute any of Yost's claims about the outside reasons for leaving the show. Saban Entertainment made no official statement regarding the subject. After Yost left the show, he attempted to change his sexual orientation with
conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
for two years. Eventually, he had a
nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
that resulted in his psychiatric hospitalization for five weeks. After he checked out, he moved to Mexico for a year and eventually accepted his sexuality. Yost starred as Josh White in the film '' Scene of the Crime'' (1996). He portrayed a
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
photographer in the television film ''After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped'' (2000). He was an associate producer for another television film, '' The Mary Kay Letourneau Story'' (2000). He first tried producing in 2001, working on the series ''
Alien Hunter ''Alien Hunter'' is a 2003 American-Bulgarian science-fiction-thriller film directed by Ronald Krauss and starring James Spader, Carl Lewis and Leslie Stefanson. Plot In 1947 New Mexico, a radio operator receives a bizarre signal coming from R ...
'' and '' Temptation Island''. He worked as the director of production for ''Sci-Fi Lab'', headed by the Sci-Fi Channel. He then became the manager of licensing for
Geneon (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Tokyo ...
, where he sold television shows and films to such networks as
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
,
Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...
,
Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...
, and
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
. In 2002, Yost performed in a play called ''Fallen Guardian Angels'' in Los Angeles for AIDS Project Los Angeles. The play was about six actors dealing with HIV in 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, as well as receiving good reviews from ''LA Weekly Theater''. In 2004, he worked as a field producer for the English documentary series ''
You Are What You Eat ''You Are What You Eat'' is a British dieting programme presented by Trisha Goddard and Amir Khan that broadcasts on Channel 5. The show was originally broadcast on Channel 4, before moving to Channel 5 in 2022 for its revived series. Both ...
''. He appeared at the Anime Festival Orlando in Florida in August 2010. He has participated in the
NOH8 Campaign The NOH8 Campaign (NOH8 meaning "No Hate") is a charitable organization whose mission is to promote LGBTQ marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest. The campaign was created as photographic ...
. He appeared at Power Morphicon 2012 and 2014 in
Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...
along with his former co-stars. Yost appeared alongside his friend and former Power Rangers co-star,
Amy Jo Johnson Amy Jo Johnson (born October 6, 1970) is an American and Canadian actress, musician, and filmmaker. As an actress, Johnson is best known for her roles as Kimberly Hart on ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (1993–1995), Julie Emrick on '' Feli ...
in one of Johnson's
Stageit Stageit is a web-based performance venue headquartered in Hollywood, California. It hosts paid performances by musical artists who perform live via webcam. The performances are not archived or duplicated for distribution. Stageit currency To pu ...
webcast shows in 2014. As of 2015, Yost remains on the convention circuit. In 2016, Yost became co-owner of Affirmative Clothing along with
Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city co ...
entrepreneurs Mason and Cris Andrade. Named after one of Billy's catch phrases, Affirmative has apparel with designs mostly inspired by ''Power Rangers'', which Yost and the Andrade brothers first sold on conventions they attended. In 2017, he starred in the short film ''The Order'' alongside other former ''Power Rangers'' co-stars. In May 2018, shortly after Hasbro acquired the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, Yost (via Twitter) expressed his desire to help produce a ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' reunion film for
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. In September 2022, it was announced that Yost was returning to the ''Power Rangers'' franchise for a 30th-anniversary special, accompanied by original Black Ranger actor
Walter Emanuel Jones Walter Emanuel Jones (born November 30, 1970), also known as Tre Emanuel, is an American actor, martial artist, singer and dancer, known for playing the role of Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger on the hit television series ''Mighty Morphin Pow ...
as well as former co-stars
Steve Cardenas Stephen Antonio Cardenas (born May 29, 1974) is an American martial artist and actor. He is best known for playing the character Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and eventually the Blue Zeo Ranger in ''Po ...
,
Johnny Yong Bosch Johnny Yong Bosch (born John Jay Bosch; January 6, 1976) is an American actor. His first major role was the portrayal of Adam Park, the second Black Power Ranger and later, the Green Zeo Ranger and first Green Turbo Ranger in the ''Power Rangers ...
,
Karan Ashley Karan Ashley Jackson is an American actress, singer, and talk show host. She is best known as Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Power Ranger in the Fox Kids series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''. In 1992, she was a member of the short-lived girl ...
, and
Catherine Sutherland Catherine Jane Sutherland (born 24 October 1974) is an Australian/American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Kat Hillard, the second Pink Power Ranger and later, the Pink Zeo Ranger and the first Pink Turbo Ranger in the ''Power Ranger ...
. The special titled '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always'' was released on April 19, 2023.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

*
David Yost
on Twitter
Affirmative Clothing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yost, David 1969 births 20th-century American LGBTQ people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American LGBTQ people American gay actors American LGBTQ rights activists American male film actors American male television actors Graceland University alumni LGBTQ film producers LGBTQ people from Iowa LGBTQ television producers Living people Male actors from Iowa People from Council Bluffs, Iowa People from Pleasanton, California