Film & TV / Theatre & dance
Walter Emanuel Jones
born 1966 · actor, martial artist, dancer, singer
The original Black Ranger, Zack Taylor, of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, born and raised in Detroit.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 59- Also known as
- Tre Emanuel
- Detroit years
- 1966–1980s
- Field
- Film & TV, Theatre & dance
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Walter Emanuel Jones was born and raised in Detroit. As a small child he lost the middle finger of his left hand in a firearm accident, which later kept him out of the U.S. Air Force, which he had hoped to join. He turned instead to dance, singing and martial arts, and worked as a dancer and singer, including on cruise ships, before an open casting call for performers who could act, fight, dance or tumble landed him the role of Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993). His character's hip-hop-inflected fighting style, which blended dance with martial arts, became one of the show's signatures. He went on to guest roles in Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Moesha and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and to voice work in animated films.
Highlights
- Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger, in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993)
- Guest roles in Family Matters, Moesha and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Voice work in Open Season 2 and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
- Trained dancer and martial artist