Profile of Pat Morita on Famous Like Me

Noriyuki "Pat" Morita (born June 28, 1932 in Isleton, California) is an actor best known for the roles of Arnold on the TV show Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the movie The Karate Kid, for which he was nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.

Early life

Morita, the son of an itinerant fruit worker, developed spinal tuberculosis at age two and spent the bulk of the next nine years in Northern California hospitals, including the Shriners Hospital in San Francisco. He was for long periods wrapped in a full body cast and was told he would never walk. The boy, often alone and isolated, made sock puppets to entertain himself.

After a surgeon fused four vertebrae in his spine, Noriyuki finally learned to walk again at age 11. By then, his Japanese-American family had been sent to an internment camp to be detained for the duration of World War II. The boy was transported from the hospital directly to the camp in Arizona to join them.

For a time after the war, the family operated Ariake Chop Suey, a restaurant in Sacramento, California. Teenage "Nori" would entertain customers with jokes and serve as master of ceremonies for group dinners.

Noriyuki graduated from high school in Fairfield, California and shortly thereafter moved back to the Sacramento area, where he took a job with an aerospace company. The firm designed and manufactured rocket engines.

Before becoming a performer

It was only after working his way up to head of a computer operations department that the young man, by now a husband and father, and also seriously overweight, decided he had taken the wrong life path. He quit and became a standup comedian.

Comedy and improv

"Pat" Morita, often billed as "the Hip Nip" in his standup act, became a member of the Los Angeles improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings.

TV roles lead to movies

A recurring role as a Korean national on the sitcom M*A*S*H helped advance the comedian's acting career. His portrayal of malt-shop owner Arnold on Happy Days made him a household face and name.

Although Morita gained worldwide fame playing a wise karate teacher in The Karate Kid and its sequels, most of his karate scenes in movies were performed by stunt double (and noted shito-ryu karate-ka) Fumio Demura.

Works

• M*A*S*H
• Happy Days
• Sanford and Son
• Midway
• The Karate Kid
• The Karate Kid Part II
• The Karate Kid Part III
• Honeymoon in Vegas
• Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
• Spy Hard
• Mulan
• The Next Karate Kid
• The Karate Dog

External link

• Pat Morita at the Internet Movie Database

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