Pat Morita | Biography, Karate Kid, Happy Days, & Facts | Britannica (2024)

Pat Morita (born June 28, 1932, Isleton, California, U.S.—died November 24, 2005, Las Vegas, Nevada) was an American actor best known for playing the role of a wise martial arts master in the popular film The Karate Kid (1984), which spawned a successful franchise. For his performance in the original movie, Morita became the first Asian American to earn an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.

Early life

Morita was born in Isleton, California. His parents were Japanese immigrant farmworkers. As a child Morita suffered from spinal tuberculosis, and he spent several years in hospitals and health care facilities, most of the time immobilized in a body cast. A natural performer, he entertained nurses and other children with sock puppets.

After the United States declared war on Japan in 1941, there were unfounded suspicions that Japanese Americans would sympathize with the Japanese government and sabotage the U.S. war effort. In response, the U.S. government confined approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent to internment camps. The Moritas were forced to live at the Gila River camp in Arizona and later at the Tule Lake camp in northern California.

After World War II ended, Morita and his family were released. While attending high school, he helped his parents run a Chinese restaurant in Sacramento, California, and while there he often entertained customers with jokes. After high school he began using the name Pat, a nickname given to him in the hospital by a Roman Catholic priest.

Stand-up comedy and acting

In the 1960s Morita held various office jobs, working as a data entry clerk for the state of California and then as a supervisor at a rocket manufacturer. At the age of 30, however, he left the corporate world to become a stand-up comedian. Morita started performing in local nightclubs, and in 1964 he got his first big break, appearing on the television variety show The Hollywood Palace. The national coverage helped him get booked as a featured comic on talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show in 1969 and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1970. During this time he also made his film debut, appearing in the musical comedy Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), which starred Julie Andrews.

Soon Morita began landing more bit parts in movies. He also made guest appearances on popular TV shows, and during the early 1970s he was cast in The Odd Couple, The Bob Newhart Show, and M*A*S*H. From 1974 to 1976 Morita had a recurring role on the television comedy Sanford and Son. In 1975 he began acting on the sitcom Happy Days, playing malt-shop owner Matsuo (“Arnold”) Takahashi. It was arguably his best-known TV role, and he stayed with the series on and off through 1983.

In 1984 Morita starred in his career-defining film, The Karate Kid. He was cast as Mr. Miyagi, an experienced karate master who teaches Daniel, a bullied teenager (played by Ralph Macchio), how to stand up for himself. As part of Daniel’s training, Miyagi has him perform everyday chores, and in one of the movie’s memorable scenes, Miyagi asks Daniel to wax his car, demonstrating the moves while saying, “Wax on, wax off.” The movie was a huge hit, and Morita later starred in three sequels: The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989), and The Next Karate Kid (1994).

In addition to the Karate Kid series, Morita acted in a variety of other projects. In 1985 he had a prominent role in the TV movie Amos, a drama set in a nursing home where the head nurse is murdering the patients. For his performance, Morita earned an Emmy Award nomination. He also guest starred on TV shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Married…with Children, and Diagnosis Murder, and he had recurring roles on The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, The Hughleys, and Baywatch, among others. His film credits include the comedy-romance Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), the action adventure Bloodsport II (1996), and the family drama I’ll Remember April (2000). Morita also voiced the character of the Chinese emperor in the Walt Disney animated film Mulan (1998).

A documentary about his life, More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story, appeared in 2021.