![]() ![]() “With all the demons he had, and what he suffered and went through, he was able to rise from all of that stuff and create one of the most iconic screen characters ever. “I hope that people watching the documentary will realize what a genuine, nice person Pat was,” he notes. But now he lives on, not only through his body of work but this documentary, which is largely narrated by Pat himself, thanks to an in-depth interview he gave to the Archive of American Television. Pat, who was married three times and was the father of three, in 2005 was suffering from a urinary tract and gallbladder infection that led to kidney failure, and he died on November 24. ![]() He’s a martial artist.’ But Pat was able to pull it off.” (A.J. The downside, of course, was that there’s the cliché that Asians know martial arts, so even though it was a positive role, there was still this negative connotation. It was a character that everyone could relate to, because everyone needs a mentor in their real life that willingly teaches you the ways. ![]() I mean, Arnold was a silly little man we could laugh with, but there was something just a little more profound about Miyagi. “I have to imagine that that really had a powerful impact on him,” Kevin suggests, “because he became a genuine role model. One point he makes is that when Pat first played Miyagi, and before he found himself typecast, he actually felt pride and fulfillment. © Love Project Films / Courtesy Everett Collection I don’t think he ever really found himself.” MORE THAN MIYAGI: THE PAT MORITA STORY, poster, Pat Morita, 2021. And when things got bad for him, he began to drink more than he normally did and he just went down from there. And at that point you get blacklisted in Hollywood where the word starts to spread that you shouldn’t hire this guy. I think that happens a lot you just get recognized as this one character and he ended up just doing Master This, Master That, and there was a point in his life that he wasn’t getting any roles, because he was older and kept drinking and starting stumbling and doing a whole bunch of silly things. “When you’re an aging Asian actor, you get kind of pigeonholed into doing the character that you’re known for. “The turning point for him, I think, is when he reached the age of 60 and above,” muses Kevin. (c) Columbia Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection. THE NEXT KARATE KID, Pat Morita, Hilary Swank, 1994. After that, he continued acting, but his struggle with drinking grew more intense and began costing him roles to the point where he was becoming unemployable. He reprised the role in The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), and 1994’s The Next Karate Kid (now training Hilary Swank). Miyagi for the first time in The Karate Kid, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Miyagi Enters His Life THE KARATE KID, PART III, Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, 1989, (c)Columbia Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection He was Arnold on Happy Days for several seasons until he left to star in his own short-lived series, Mr. Moving to Los Angeles, he managed some success and then began appearing in small roles in feature films and making television guest-starring appearances on series like Green Acres, The Odd Couple, M*A*S*H (in a rare dramatic performance), and a recurring part on Sanford and Son. Married and with a child, in 1960 he began working as a data processor for a number of operations, but feeling burned out, he began performing standup at small clubs in Sacramento and San Francisco under the name Pat Morita. Noriyuki “Pat” Morita was born June 28, 1932, in Isleton, California. ![]() (c) Paramount Television/ Courtesy: Everett Collection. It was usually a doctor, lawyer or engineer - occupations like that.” HAPPY DAYS, Pat Morita, Season 2, 1975. He was the first Asian person to do a stand up comedy act, and it was uncommon for a Japanese man to pursue an acting career. Especially for a Japanese man at the time. What I look to is that despite all that, he accomplished so much. “At the same time,” Kevin counters, “it’s understandable given all the stuff that he suffered - the illness, internment camp, his father dying in front of his eyes. Collision Course was a 1989 film that saw Pat team up with Jay Leno (before he realized he couldn’t act) as a pair of cops (© De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/courtesy Everett Collection) ![]()
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