Behind the Helmets | Mighty Morphin | Rangers

David Harold Yost
born January 7, 1969 in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Heritage: American

Characters Portrayed

Billy Cranston/Blue Morphin Ranger

MMPR 1-3 | MMPR:TM | MMAR | Zeo

Chronology
David went from nationally known gymnast to internationally known television star. Since his days on camera, David has worked as a Director and Producer for several projects.

1980's

David won the Iowa and Montana State Gymnastics Championships, as it was common for him to compete nationally.

1991

He earned a BA in Communications and Dramatic Arts upon graduating from Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa.

1992-1996

David moved to California to put his degree to use and auditioned for Billy Cranston the original Blue Ranger. He won the role after only being in Cali for a couple months. Though there were several pilots produced, the final one aired in 1993. It wouldn't be until 1999 that one of th earlier pilots would air, which featured a different actress for Trini Kwan named Audri Dubois. David's hairstyle and character were altered in this version as well.

His work on "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" gave him a chance to be nationally recognized in a whole different light, and put his gymnastic skills to the test. Billy's character was curiously buff for being just a tech/nerd. It also gained him exposure to the big screen in 1995 for "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie," which was filmed in Australia. The script for the movie was drastically altered by the time the movie was produced. One of the changes included a running gag in that every time Billy would teleport, he'd land in a huge puddle of water. David appeared in every episode of the show.

In 1996, the show had been changed to "Power Rangers Zeo." This changed the dynamics of the show because it was now adapting footage from the Japanese Ranger series entitled "OhRanger" rather than the series his Blue Ranger costume first came from two years prior, "ZyuRanger." OhRanger only had five Power Ranger suits that could be used for "Power Rangers Zeo" (Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Pink) whereas Mighty Morphin ended with six (White, Red, Black, Blue, Yellow, Pink). During this transition, David's character was reduced from Ranger status to technical consultant alongside Alpha 5. The decision might have also been tied to the well known fact that David was having issues with the production staff behind the scenes, and often thought himself as the star. Combined with salary issues, David would end up leaving the show in the middle of the Zeo season. His final episode was a collection of unused previous footage that was spliced together. Most of the lines originally assigned to him were simply given to Alpha 5. The only other mention of the Billy Cranston character would be in 2004 during the "Power Rangers DinoThunder" season where returning character Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank) reveals to the new Ranger team their namesakes' past.

David was to appear in the second Ranger movie "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie" as well, but his abrupt departure forced a rewrite in which the other Rangers help create the Turbo powers, rather than Billy.

1995

David had a small role in the movie "Ladykiller."

2000's

David would pursue active roles as a producer for numerous projects, and would later be Director of Production for "Sci-Fi Lab," a subsidiary company from Sci Fi that was developed in LA to brainstorm cutting edge alternative programming for the network. He would move on to be Manager of Licensing for "Pioneer Entertainment" and sold completed shows to numerous networks such as Showtime, Starz/Encore and even the Cartoon Network.

2000

In the television movie "After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped," David portrayed a Playboy photographer.

Also this year, David dabbed his hands in the world of being an Associate Producer for another television movie "The Mary Kay Letourmeau Story."

2001

After his work in 2000, David continued as Producer for the television series "Alien Hunter" and also with "Temptation Island."

David was one of the original Power Rangers actors to attend the funeral of former Ranger Thuy Trang, who portrayed the first Yellow Ranger. Walter Jones and Amy Jo Johnson also attended.

2002

David returned to theatre in a play entitled "Fallen Guardian Angel" in LA, in which the proceeds went to Children's Hospital AIDS Center, as the play was made for ALPA (AIDS Project Los Angeles). The donation totaled at $25,000, with $5,000 coming from David himself. LA Weekly Theatre gave the play a very positive review.

2004

In the UK documentary "You are What You Eat," David worked as a Field Producer.

2005

David was wed to Louis Crass, his childhood sweetheart, in a quiet ceremony in Pasadena, California on November 5th.