This article is about an actor in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. |
Jason Lawrence Geiger[1], better known under his stage name Austin St. John is an American actor who portrayed Jason Lee Scott/Red Ranger beginning from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with his most recent reprisal of the role in Power Rangers Beast Morphers.
Biography[]
Geiger was born in Roswell, New Mexico, U.S. on September 17, 1974, the son of U.S. Marine and martial artist Steve Geiger and his wife Sharon. With a parent in the armed forces, St. John lived all over the United States while growing up.
He starred as Jason the Red Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for 79 episodes from 1993-94, ending with the episode "Opposites Attract" (though Jason continued to be featured via body doubles, voice doubles, and stock footage before being written off in "The Power Transfer"). He reprised his role of Jason in Power Rangers: Zeo for 17 episodes in 1996 when Jason temporarily took over the Gold Ranger powers. After his departure from Zeo, St. John soon after returned as Jason yet again in the 1997 film Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, along with former castmate Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly Ann Hart).
After the film, St. John appeared as the co-host of the 1999 Power Rangers special "The Lost Episode," along with former castmate Walter Jones (Zack Taylor).[2] In 2002, St. John reprised his role of Jason in Power Rangers: Wild Force, for the episode "Forever Red." He costarred with nine other former Red Ranger actors, including former castmate Jason David Frank (Tommy Oliver). This would be his last appearance in the Power Rangers franchise until 2020, when he reprised the role of Jason once more for the Beast Morphers episode "Grid Connection".
St. John was present at the first Power Morphicon during Summer 2007, where he met many fans and was interviewed along with several former castmates, including Walter Jones, Johnny Yong Bosch (Adam Park), Steve Cardenas (Rocky DeSantos), and Jason Narvy (Skull).
In Summer 2014, he attended Power Morphicon 4 and met Yuta Mochizuki (who portrayed Jason's Super Sentai counterpart Geki), as pictured here.
Since 2018, he has been a member of fandom vlog YouTube channel Fanward.
Personal life[]
- St. John currently works in Washington, D.C. as a paramedic.
- St. John is of Native American, German, Irish, Japanese and Spanish descent.
- St. John has one brother, Stephen.
- St. John holds a second-degree black belt in Tae-Kwon Do and a first-degree black belt in Judo, and he also practices Shenkito and Kenpo.
Legal Issues[]
Fraud Charge[]
On May 19, 2022, St. John and 17 other individuals were arrested[3] and charged by the Department of Justice of federal fraud related to the CARES Act. He allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain funding for a payroll program using fradulent businesses. Prosecutors allege that St. John and his co-defendants paid off the ringleaders and spent money on personal purchases. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.[1][4] St. John later pleaded "not guilty" to his charges.
Since the incident, St. John was put on probation and his movements were restricted within his home state of Texas. However as his occupation requires him to travel across the country, the court granted him permission to do so under legal supervision within his submitted itinerary, which included his previously scheduled convention appearances.[5] On May 25, 2022, St. John released a video confirming these recent events as true and reiterated his legal inability to discuss said events at his entertainment-based public appearances.[6]
On April 22, 2024, St. John pleaded guilty.[7] On May 1, 2024, St. John entered into a plea agreement with the government in relation to the pending charge of “Count One of the First Superseding Indictment with a violation of 18 U.S.C. $ 1349, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud”, with his plea hearing set for Monday, May 6 at 2:00 PM CDT.[8]
Controversy[]
On February 26, 2024, St. John announced the release of a new clothing line bearing the likeness of Power Rangers on a podcast with voice actor Jim Cummings.[9] However, two weeks following the podcast, St. John came under fire following the announcement that his clothing line would also include quotes from various historical figures such as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and most notably Adolf Hitler, whom St. John himself admits was a terrible person and a "demon on steroids". St. John responded that the point of including such figure was to "look to our past, to leaders both good and terrible, and take from them what you can."[10][11] The clothing line ultimately did not include quotes from Hitler as St. John previously announced,[12] with St. John reiterating the absence of such plans to do so.[13]
Filmography[]
Film[]
- Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997)
Television[]
- Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (1993-1994)
- Power Rangers Zeo (1996)
- Power Rangers Wild Force (2002)
- Power Rangers Beast Morphers (2020)
Notes[]
- St. John was 18 when he was cast, making him the youngest cast member when the series' premiered.
- He along with Walter Jones and Thuy Trang quit the show midway in Season 2 due to pay disputes. Jason would later be written off and replaced with Steve Cardenas's Rocky DeSantos.
External links[]
- Austin St. John at tv.com
- Austin St. John at imdb.com
- Official merchandise website
- X
- TikTok
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/18-arrested-charged-east-texas-paycheck-protection-program-related-fraud
- ↑ POWER RANGERS: THE LOST EPISODE. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
- ↑ https://www.tmz.com/2022/05/20/red-power-ranger-arrested-charged-fraud-fbi-raid/
- ↑ https://comicbook.com/powerrangers/news/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-star-austin-st-john-charged-fraud/?fbclid=IwAR0F4f2iBe3fKiaxLZrhjxv4QPT3h8cfRPyALYxFdhmP4nGMix6ABHDlIaw
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KentuckyJAM/status/1529313968937910273
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHmyBxYyjeY
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/powerrangers/comments/1coxue8/austin_st_john_pleads_guilty_this_signed_legal/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/nopinkspandex/status/1786753846020091998?t=6U-SAHAKO0GPZIaOB8w6dw&s=19
- ↑ https://youtu.be/F9GyT-NGPdk?si=MSYA3clmd3kaG-5y
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Morg_Lamia/status/1767233462358991166
- ↑ https://t.co/nNz9ps6R1o
- ↑ https://twitter.com/DrZeoPhD/status/1775706929576214672
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ASJAustin/status/1775674740788654399
Footnotes[]