LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Wax on, wax off. Pat Morita, best remembered for his Oscar-nominated performance as a cryptic sensei in "The Karate Kid," has died at age 73. The prolific actor passed away Thursday, Nov. 24 of natural causes in his Las Vegas home.
Noriyuki Morita was born June 28, 1932 in Isleton, Calif., to itinerant fruit pickers. He overcame dual hardships in his younger years, first battling spinal tuberculosis and spending time in numerous hospitals. Although he was told he'd never walk again, an operation to fuse four vertebrae was successful, and he was on his feet at age 11. Unfortunately, this was during the height of World War II, so he was transferred directly from the hospital to a Japanese internment camp to join his family in Arizona.
After the war, the family ran the restaurant Ariake Chop Suey in Sacramento, where Morita got a taste for showbiz by doing standup comedy. Despite this, he joined an aerospace company after graduating high school where he eventually worked his way up to head of a computer operations department. At that point, with his career set and a family started, he quit to pursue his passion for performance full time.
Thus was born "Pat" Morita, who was often billed as "the Hip Nip" for his act. He hit Los Angeles and Las Vegas clubs, and eventually joined the LA improv comedy troupe The Groundlings and He broke into film and TV with some fairly unflattering characters considering the limited roles offered to Asians at the time. His resume included bit parts in "Thoroughly Modern Millie" on the big screen and appearances in "Love, American Style," "Green Acres," "M*A*S*H" and "Sanford and Son."
His big break came as mouthy diner owner Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on the nostalgic sitcom "Happy Days." But it was the dry-witted Kesuke Miyagi who taught "Daniel-San" to defend himself in 1984's "Karate Kid" that made Morita (and Miyagi) a household name. The diminutive, proverb-spouting pacifist Mr. Miyagi had an unconventional way of teaching Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) martial arts by giving him chores such as waxing the car, sanding the deck or painting the fence. In reality (for the film) he was teaching him the form and techniques for specific martial arts blocks.
The kooky character, who tried to catch flies with chopsticks, was so popular that Morita was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar that year, but lost to Haing S. Ngor for "The Killing Fields." Nevertheless, three other "Karate Kid" films were spawned as well as a sushi restaurant on the Sunset strip called Miyagi's that capitalized on the character's notoriety.
Morita has a slew of other credits as well, including, "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," "Spy Hard," "The Center of the World" and the "Mulan" films, for which he provided the voice for the emperor of China. His TV work also continued apace with roles in "Mr. T and Tina" (his short-lived vehicle), "Ohara" (which he wrote), "The Love Boat," "The Hughleys," "Baywatch Hawaii" "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo" (as the girl's grandfather) and as himself on Cartoon Network's stop-motion series "Robot Chicken."
He is survived by Evelyn, his wife of 12 years, and three daughters from a previous marriage. He is to be buried at the Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery.
