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Pat Morita

bartboy9891

bartboy9891

I'm not Moe
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Dec 1, 2004
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Pat Morita, whose portrayal of the wise and dry-witted Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid" earned him an Oscar nomination, died on Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 73.

Mr. Morita, who began his career as a stand-up comedian, had his breakthrough role as Arnold, the restaurant owner on the sitcom "Happy Days," in 1975. Before that he had played small parts in films like "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and on television series like "Sanford and Son," "M*A*S*H," "The Odd Couple" and "Green Acres." After one season on "Happy Days," he briefly starred in his own series, "Mr. T and Tina," in 1976. He returned to "Happy Days" for the 1982-83 season.

In 1984, Mr. Morita first played the role that would define his career and spawn countless affectionate imitations, Kesuke Miyagi in "The Karate Kid." As the mentor to Ralph Macchio's "Daniel-san," he taught karate while trying to catch flies with chopsticks and offering such advice as "wax on, wax off" to guide Daniel through chores to improve his skills.

His performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. He lost to Haing S. Ngor, who won for his role in "The Killing Fields."

"The Karate Kid" was followed by three sequels. In the last, "The Next Karate Kid" in 1994, Mr. Morita's student was played by a young Hilary Swank.

Mr. Morita was prolific outside the "Karate Kid" series as well. He appeared in "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Spy Hard," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," "The Center of the World" and numerous other movies. He also provided the voice for a character in the animated Disney feature "Mulan" in 1998.

Born in Northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant fruit pickers, Mr. Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered, only to be sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

After the war, Mr. Morita's family tried to repair its finances by operating a restaurant in Sacramento. It was there that Mr. Morita first tried his hand at comedy, performing for patrons.

Because prospects for a Japanese-American stand-up comic seemed poor, Mr. Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But he entered show business full time at 30 and went on to achieve considerable success in nightclubs and, later, on television.

Mr. Morita is survived by his wife and three daughters from a previous marriage.
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:(

for those that don't know who he is:
http://img401.imageshack.**/img401/8821/patmorita1cn.jpg
 
RIP :sleep:
 
Man this guy was awesome in Karate Kid.

RIP
 
Weird, one of the karate kid movies just ended on the telly...

RIP
 
Damn everbody is gonna die? :(

R.I.P.
 
R.I.P Mr. Miyagi, Banzai!

Sucks, my grandfather died just last week..now everyone is going. :(
 
My nickname is Mr. Miyagi because i'm asain (no fighting skillz or anything, its weird)

RIP dude..

Side Note: Classmate died yestorday in a dirtbike accident...
 
^

:(
 
In the US, he really was a cultural icon!
I don't know of anybody that didn't know who he was.

He will truly be missed.
 
pdanev said:
Ohh man, is this week ruled by death or what? :cry:

R.I.P. Mr. Miyagi. :(
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its been like this for the last few years actually when you think about it. All of the famous people from ages ago are all getting old now. kinda sucks to be in this time, but i guess its even worse in the future. :(
 
Dark_Templer_102 said:
Didn't that Subaru Rally Driver die recentlly? Something "Burns"?
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richard burns, yea.
 
Dark_Templer_102 said:
Didn't that Subaru Rally Driver die recentlly? Something "Burns"?
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See Here
 
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