Pat Morita

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Biography

Recent Role:
Master Udon on SpongeBob SquarePants
Gender:
Male
Born:
6-28-1932
Died:
11-24-2005 (Natural Causes)
Birthplace:
Isleton, California, USA
Birth Name:
Noriyuki Morita
AKA:
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
Pat Morita was born Noriyuki Morita on June 28, 1932, in Northern California to migrant farm workers. As an infant he developed spinal tuberculosis and spent nine years in hospitals, sometimes in a full-body cast. Doctors told the family that he would not recover, but at age 11 he learned to walk again after undergoing surgery. While Noriyuki was still recovering from the operation, he and his family were sent to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona for the remainder of World War II. While in the camp he adopted his stage name, Pat, from a priest he met.

… More After the war ended, the Morita family opened a chop suey restaurant in Sacramento, California, where Pat developed and honed his innate skill in stand-up comedy. After college he worked for an aerospace company, Areojet-General, eventually becoming the head of their computer operations division. However, he was unhappy with his life's course, so at age 30, with a wife and children, he quit his job and moved to Los Angeles to devote himself full time to stand-up. Soon after, he joined the legendary improv troupe The Groundlings, which has served as a launching pad for the careers of many famous comedians.
After appearing in supporting roles on shows such as The Odd Couple, Sanford & Son, MASH, Love, American Style, and Hawaii Five-O, Morita landed the part of Arnold on the hit series Happy Days. He went on to star in two series of his own: Mr. T and Tina, in which he played a crime-solving inventor, and Ohara, in which he palyed a crime-solving spiritualist.
In 1984, Morita costarred as an aging karate sensei in a small film that many expected would come and go, quickly and unnoticed. The Karate Kid, from Rocky director John G. Avildsen, told the story of a gawky teenage boy, Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio), who is picked on by high school bullies after he moves to a new town. He is befriended by an old Japanese man, Mr. Miyagi (Morita), who proceeds to teach the boy the secrets of karate. As Daniel learns the secrets of karate, he also learns the secrets of self-confidence.
The Karate Kid became a blockbuster hit and featured a memorable 1980s catchphrase when Miyagi, instructing Daniel in the finer points of auto detailing, tells him to "wax on, wax off" his car. Morita earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his role, and the film went on to gross almost $100 million and spawned three sequels. The last film, titled The Next Karate Kid, released in 1994, starred a young Hilary Swank in the Ralph Macchio role.
Morita continued acting up until his death, starring as Grandpa Woo in the Nickelodean series The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, and appearing in the films Spy Hard, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, and voicing the Emperor of China in Disney's Mulan. He will be seen in the upcoming film Princess, in which he plays the aging protector of a girl targeted for assassination by evil forces.

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  •  
    10 Perfect
    Arnold, It’s time to lock up. hide show

    Noriyuki "Pat" Morita
    1932-2005 To a generation he was Mr. Miyagi, Daniel-san’s (Ralph Macchio) mentor in the The Karate Kid movies, but to me he will always be Arnold from Happy Days.

    As a child Morita suffered from spinal tuberculosis and was told that he would never walk again. Thanks to an operation to fuse four vertebrae he was on his feet only to be sent with his family to a Japanese internment camp in Arizona during World War II. After all this hardship and suffering Pat Morita dedicated his life to making people laugh. After years of stand-up comedy in the early '60s known as "The Hip Nip" and roles in film and television Morita landed his breakthrough role as the 50's drive-in owner Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi.

    I was trying to think of an Arnold quote, but Arnold’s best lines were either in Japanese or sound effects. To quote Pat Morita, "Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did".

    Good Night Mr. Morita. I will always remember you as a source of laughter and inspiration.

    Stay Tuned

    Tony Figueroa

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    COTV Added May 25, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    8 Great
    empty hide show

    Pat Morita is a classic actor best known for his roles as movies like "Karate Kid" the four of them, and movies like "Mulan" where most of the time he plays Chinese people. I really like his style, and though he did not have an extended variety of characters, he is still a classic actor. Really good actor.

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    NoOneIsAlone Added Feb 24, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    7 Good
    empty hide show

    Pat Morita is probably better known to all younger people (well, children of the 80s) as Mr. Miyagi. He just may have been stereotyped into that role, but it's a classic role so there's nothing to be ashamed about. I mean, he is convincing as a great karate instructor. Other than this role, I don't know if I've seen him in anything else.

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    amauriel Added Feb 10, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    9.3 Superb
    Talented and will be missed hide show

    I loved him as Mike Woo on the Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. I also heard he was on Happy Days, but I haven't seen that. I did see him in The Karate Kid a little while ago, and that was cool. Why the heck do the people I like die? It's usually not of natural causes either!

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    BTRAV Added Feb 6, 2006 All my reviews
 

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