fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005)[1] was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days, Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid film series, Captain Sam Pak on the sitcom M*A*S*H, Ah Chew in Sanford and Son, Mike Woo in The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, and The Emperor of China in Mulan and Mulan II. He was the series lead actor in the television program Mr. T and Tina and in Ohara, a police-themed drama. The two shows made history for being among the few TV shows with an Asian-American series lead.

Pat Morita
Morita in 1971
Born	Noriyuki Morita (1932-06-28)June 28, 1932[1] Isleton, California, U.S.
Died	November 24, 2005(2005-11-24) (aged 73) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	1962–2005
Spouses	Kathleen Yamachi ​ ​ (m. 1953; div. 1967)​ Yukiye Kitahara ​ ​ (m. 1970; div. 1989)​ Evelyn Guerrero ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	3

Morita was nominated for the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid,[2] which would be the first of a media franchise in which Morita was the central player.

Early life

Morita was born on June 28, 1932, in Isleton, California to Japanese immigrant parents.[3] Morita's father Tamaru, born in 1897, immigrated to California from Kumamoto Prefecture on the Japanese island of Kyushu in 1915.[4] Tamaru's wife, Momoe, born in 1903, immigrated to California in 1913.[5] Noriyuki, as Pat was named, had a brother named Hideo (Harry) who was twelve years older.[6][7]

Morita developed spinal tuberculosis (Pott disease) at the age of two and spent the bulk of the next nine years in the Weimar Institute in Weimar, California, and later at the Shriners Hospital in San Francisco. For long periods, he was wrapped in a full-body cast, and he was told that he would never walk.[8] During his time at a sanatorium near Sacramento, Morita befriended a visiting priest who would often joke that, if Morita ever converted to Catholicism, the priest would rename him to "Patrick Aloysius Ignatius Xavier Noriyuki Morita".[9] Released from the hospital at age 11 after undergoing extensive spinal surgery and learning how to walk, Morita was transported from the hospital directly to the Gila River camp in Arizona to join his interned family.[10] After about a year and a half, he was transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center.[11]

After World War II ended, Morita moved back to the Bay Area and he graduated from Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, in 1949. For a time after the war, the family operated Ariake Chop Suey, a restaurant in Sacramento, California,[12] jokingly described by Morita years later as "a Japanese family running a Chinese restaurant in a black neighborhood with a clientele of blacks, Filipinos and everybody else who didn't fit in any of the other neighborhoods".[13] Morita would entertain customers with jokes and serve as master of ceremonies for group dinners.[14] After Morita's father was killed in 1956 in a hit-and-run while walking home from an all-night movie, Morita and his mother kept the restaurant going for another three or four years. Needing a regular job to support his wife and a newly born child, Morita became a data processor in the early 1960s with the Department of Motor Vehicles and other state agencies, graduating to a graveyard shift job at Aerojet General. In due time, he was a department head at another aerospace firm, Lockheed, handling the liaison between the engineers and the programmers who were mapping out lunar eclipses for Polaris and Titan missile projects.[13]

However, Morita suffered from occupational burnout and decided to quit his job and try show business.[13] He began working as a stand-up comedian at small clubs in Sacramento and San Francisco, and took the stage name "Pat Morita", in part due to the presence of comedians including Pat Henry and Pat Cooper, and in part due to memories of the priest he had befriended as a boy.[9] Morita struggled for many years in comedy, until fellow performer—ventriloquist Hank Garcia—told him to try his luck in Los Angeles.[13] Sally Marr, Lenny Bruce's mother, acted as his agent and manager after he moved to Los Angeles, and booked him in the San Fernando Valley and at the Horn nightclub in Santa Monica. Morita sometimes worked as the opening act for singers Vic Damone and Connie Stevens and for his mentor,[15] the comedian Redd Foxx. Morita used the nickname "The Hip Nip".[16]

Television and movie career

Early work

Morita's first movie roles were as a henchman in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and a similar role in The Shakiest Gun In The West (1968), starring Don Knotts. Morita had other notable recurring television roles on Sanford and Son (1974–1976) as Ah Chew, a good-natured friend of Lamont Sanford, and as South Korean Army Captain Sam Pak on the sitcom M*A*S*H (1973, 1974).[17] He was also cast as Rear Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka in the war film Midway (1976).

Happy Days

Morita had a recurring role in the mid-1970's on Happy Days as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi (the new Japanese owner of Arnold's Drive-In) commencing in season three (1975–76). The story line was that Takahashi had purchased the Milwaukee eatery from the original Arnold but adopted the former’s first name, explaining that it was too expensive for him to purchase the additional neon sign letters required to rename it "Takahashi's". As the new owner, he moonlighted as a martial arts instructor, teaching self-defense classes at the drive-in after hours. Morita also portrayed "Arnold" as a guest star during seasons four and six before returning as a recurring character for season ten and as a main character in the final eleventh season. He also portrayed the character of Arnold on Blansky's Beauties in 1977.

The Karate Kid film series

Morita gained particular fame during the 1980's for his work as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid films. The original preferred choice was Toshiro Mifune, who had appeared in the Akira Kurosawa films Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), and The Hidden Fortress (1958), but the actor did not speak English.[18] Morita later auditioned for the role, but was initially rejected for the part due to his close association with stand-up comedy, and with the character Arnold from Happy Days.[18] Producer Jerry Weintraub in particular did not want Morita, as he saw him as a comedic actor.[19] Morita eventually tested five times before Weintraub himself offered him the role,[19] ultimately winning it because he grew a beard and patterned his accent after his uncle.[20] After he was cast and although he had been using the name Pat for years, Weintraub suggested that he be billed with his given name to sound "more ethnic."[21]

In the first film, in The Karate Kid (1984), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a corresponding Golden Globe Award, for his role as the wise karate teacher Mr. Miyagi who taught bullied teenager Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) the art of Goju-ryu karate .[22] He was recognized as Noriyuki "Pat" Morita at the 57th Academy Awards ceremony.[23] He reprised the role two more times with Macchio in The Karate Kid Part II (1986) andThe Karate Kid Part III (1989). In 1994, he starred in The Next Karate Kid with Hilary Swank (as bullied teenager Julie Pierce) instead of Macchio.

Television series

Morita was the star of two television series. In 1976, he starred as inventor Taro Takahashi in his own show, Mr. T and Tina, the first Asian-American sitcom on network TV. The sitcom was placed on Saturday nights by ABC and was quickly canceled after a month in the fall of 1976. He also starred in the ABC detective show Ohara (1987–1988); it was cancelled after two seasons due to poor ratings.

Later work

Morita went on to play Tommy Tanaka in the Kirk Douglas-starring television movie Amos, receiving his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination and second Golden Globe Award nomination for the role.

He wrote and starred in the World War II romance film Captive Hearts (1987). He hosted the educational home video series Britannica's Tales Around the World (1990–1991). He made an appearance on The Fresh Prince of Belair in the 1994 Season 5 episode “Love Hurts”. Later in his career he starred on the Nickelodeon television series The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo (1996–1998), and had a recurring role on the sitcom The Hughleys (2000). He also made a guest appearance on a 1996 episode of Married... with Children. He went on to star in the short film Talk To Taka as a sushi chef who doles out advice to anyone who will hear him. He voiced the Emperor of China in Disney's 36th animated feature Mulan (1998) and reprised the role in Mulan II (2004), a direct-to-video sequel and Kingdom Hearts II.[24]

He spoofed his role as "Mr. Miyagi" in a series of commercials for Colgate toothpaste; he portrayed the white-clad Wisdom Tooth, hailing Colgate as "The Wise Choice".

He had a cameo appearance in the 2001 Alien Ant Farm music video "Movies". His appearance in the video spoofed his role in The Karate Kid. In 2002, he made a guest appearance on an episode of Spy TV. In 2003, he had a cameo on an episode of Yes, Dear, as an unnamed karate teacher, potentially being Miyagi. He would also reprise his role (to an extent) in the stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken in 2005.

Death

Morita died of kidney failure, following a urinary tract and gallbladder infection, on November 24, 2005, at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 73. Throughout his life, Morita had battled alcoholism.[25][17][26] He was cremated at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery in Las Vegas, Nevada.[27]

Posthumous credits

Roles created prior to his passing were included in a few posthumous works. He voiced Master Udon in the 2006 SpongeBob SquarePants Season 4 episode "Karate Island" (the episode was dedicated to his memory). He had a role in the independent feature film Only the Brave (2006), about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, where he plays the father of lead actor (and director) Lane Nishikawa (the film included two other Karate Kid stars, Yuji Okumoto and Tamlyn Tomita).[28] He also had roles in Act Your Age (2011), Royal Kill (2009), and Remove All Obstacles (2010).[29]

The fifth episode of the 2018–present series Cobra Kai (a web-streaming follow up to the original Karate Kid films) was dedicated to his memory.[30] Mr. Miyagi is frequently referenced via archival footage from the original films during Cobra Kai, having died on November 15, 2011 (6 years after Morita's death).

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	Thoroughly Modern Millie	Asian #2
1968	The Shakiest Gun in the West	Wong
1971	Green Acres	Charlie Lee	Season 6, Episode 25, "Hawaiian Honeymoon"
1972	Evil Roy Slade	Turhan
	Columbo	Houseboy	Episode: "Etude in Black"
	Every Little Crook and Nanny	Nonaka
	Where Does It Hurt?	Nishimoto
	Cancel My Reservation	Yamamoto
	The Odd Couple	Mr. Wing	Episode: "Partner's Investment"
1973	‘’Hawaii Five-O’’	Phoebe	Season6, Episode 7, “Tricks Are Not Treats”
1973–1974	M*A*S*H	Captain Sam Pak	Season 2, Episode 13, "Deal Me Out". Season 2, Episode 19, "The Chosen People".
1974	Cannon	Chuck Yamagata	Episode: "The Avenger"
	Punch and Jody	Takahasi
1974–1976	Sanford and Son	Ah Chew	7 episodes
1975	I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?	Heshy Yamamoto
	Kung Fu	Chan	Season Three Episode 58 Ambush
1975–1983	Happy Days	Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi	26 episodes
1976	Welcome Back, Kotter	Mr. Takahashi
	Mr. T and Tina	Mr. Takahashi
	Farewell to Manzanar	Zenahiro
	Midway	Rear Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka
1977	Blansky's Beauties	Arnold	13 episodes
1977–1987	Love Boat	Unknown
1978	Man from Atlantis	Moby	Episode: "Imp"
	The Incredible Hulk	Fred	Episode: "Stop the Presses"
1980	Hito Hata: Raise the Banner	Yamada
	When Time Ran Out	Sam
1981	Full Moon High	The Silversmith
1982	Savannah Smiles	Father OHara
	Jimmy the Kid	Maurice
	Slapstick of Another Kind	Chinese Ambassador Ah Fong
1983	The Daltons on the Loose	Jolly Jumper	English dub
1984	The Karate Kid	Mr. Miyagi	Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Night Patrol	Rape Victim
1985	Alice in Wonderland	The Horse
1986	The Karate Kid Part II	Mr. Miyagi
	Babes In Toyland	The Toymaster
1987	Captive Hearts	Fukushima
1987–1988	Ohara	Lieutenant Ohara
1988	Big Bird in Japan	"Bamboo Princess" Play Narrator	Voice
1989	The Karate Kid Part III	Mr. Miyagi	Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
	The Karate Kid (animated television series)	Mr. Miyagi	Opening narration; 12 episodes
	Collision Course	Inspector Fujitsuka Natsuo
1990	Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes	Yoodo Toda
1991	Strawberry Road	Old Man's Brother
	Harry and the Hendersons	Kenji Sahuara	1 episode
	Do or Die	Masakana "Kane" Kaneshiro
	Lena's Holiday	Fred
	Goodbye Paradise	Ben
1992	Choose Your Own Adventure: The Case of the Silk King	(unknown)	ABC Weekend Special (TV Series)
	Honeymoon in Vegas	Mahi Mahi
	Miracle Beach	Gus
	Auntie Lee's Meat Pies	Chief Koal
	Great Conquest: The Romance of 3 Kingdoms	Narrator	English version
	Genghis Khan	Emperor Wang
1993	American Ninja V	Master Tetsu
	Even Cowgirls Get the Blues	The Chink
	Living and Working in Space	Cap
	Space Rangers	Nazzer
1994	The Next Karate Kid	Keisuke Miyagi
	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Mr. Yoshi	Episode: "Love Hurts"
1995	Timemaster	Isaiah
	The Misery Brothers	Judge
	Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah	Himself
1996	Murder She Wrote	Akira Hitaki	Episode: "Kendo Killing"
	Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite	David Leung
	Boy Meets World	Wise Man	Episode: "I Was a Teenage Spy"
	Spy Hard	Brian, Waiter In Restaurant
	Reggie's Prayer	Principal
	Bloodsport III	David Leung
	Earth Minus Zero	Dr. Mobius Jefferson
	Married... with Children	Bank Owner	Episode: "Turning Japanese"
1996–1998	The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo	Michael "Mike" Woo
1997	Captured Alive	Sam Kashawahara
	Beyond Barbed Wire	Narrator	Documentary
1998	Family Matters	Mr. Tanaka	Episode: "Grill of My Dreams"
	The Outer Limits	Dr. Michael Chen	Episode: "In the Zone"
	Diagnosis Murder	Martin Gaylord	Episode: “Food Fight” Season 5 Episode 23
	Mulan	The Emperor of China	Voice
1998–1999	Adventures with Kanga Roddy	Various Characters	Recurring
1999	King Cobra	Nick Hashimoto
	Inferno	Jubal Early
	Los Gringos	The Samurai	Short film
2000	Brother	Guy At The Poker Table	Uncredited
	Talk to Taka	Taka	Short film
	I'll Remember April	Abe Tanaka
	Hammerlock	Un Huong Lo
	Diamonds in the Rough: The Legacy of Japanese American Baseball	Narrator	NBRP Documentary
2001	Son of the Beach	The King	Episode: B.J Blue Hawaii
2001	Baywatch: Hawaii	Hideki Tanaka	Recurring role as the father of Kekoa Tanaka
	House of Luk	Kwang Luk
	The Boys of Sunset Ridge	Charlie Watanabe
	The Center of the World	Taxi Driver
	Shadow Fury	Dr. Oh
	Hwasango	Vice Principal Jang Hak-Sa	Dubbed version
2002	The Stone man	Professor Stevens
	The Biggest Fan	Richard Limp
2003	High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story	Mr. Leo
	Yes, Dear	Karate Teacher	Episode: "When Jimmy Met Greggy"
2004	Miss Cast Away	Himself	Cameo
	Elvis Has Left the Building	Man In Turban
	Mulan II	The Emperor of China	Voice
	The Karate Dog	Chin Li
2005	Robot Chicken	Himself	Voice; Episode: "S&M Present"
	Down and Derby	Ono Yakimoto
	American Fusion	Lao Dong

Posthumous credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Spymate	Kiro	Filmed in 2003
2006	Only the Brave	Seigo Takata
2006	The Number One Girl	Mr. Sakata
2006	18 Fingers of Death!	Freeman Lee
2006	SpongeBob SquarePants	Master Udon	Voice; Episode: "Karate Island"
2006	Kingdom Hearts II	The Emperor of China	Voice
2009	Royal Kill	Exhibition Manager	Last acting role
2010	Remove All Obstacles	The Guru	Short film
2010	Interviews of Ninja's Creed	Interviewee	Documentary
2011	Act Your Age	Tom
2013	Blunt Movie	Mr. Miyami
2014	Rice Girl	Peter Ong	(final film role)
2015	The Real Miyagi	Interviewee	Documentary
2018–present	Cobra Kai	Mr. Miyagi	Archival footage
2019[31]	Pat Morita: Long Story Short	Manuscript Writer & Interviewee	Documentary
2021	More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story	Archival footage & Interviewee	Documentary

See also

•  Biography portal
•  Film portal

References

External links

• Pat Morita at IMDb
• Pat Morita at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• George Takei and Pat Morita’s Harrowing Childhood Experiences in Japanese American Internment Camps - Biography Channel, May 4, 2021.
• Ralph Macchio on His Friend and 'Karate Kid' Costar Pat Morita: His Legacy 'Shines Brighter Than Ever' - People, November 6, 2022

На других языках

---

[de] Pat Morita

Noriyuki „Pat“ Morita (* 28. Juni 1932 in Isleton; † 24. November 2005 in Las Vegas) war ein US-amerikanischer Schauspieler japanischer Abstammung.

---

- [en] Pat Morita

---

[es] Pat Morita

Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (Sacramento, California, 28 de junio de 1932-Las Vegas, Nevada, 24 de noviembre de 2005)[1] fue un actor estadounidense de ascendencia japonesa, conocido principalmente por su papel como el maestro Nariyoshi Miyagi en la saga cinematográfica Karate Kid.[2]

---

[ru] Морита, Пэт

Нориюки «Пэт» Морита (яп. 森田 沢之, англ. Noriyuki «Pat» Morita; 28 июня 1932 — 24 ноября 2005[3]) — японский актёр, сценарист, комик. Наиболее известен ролью мистера Мияги в фильме «Парень-каратист».

---

---