Arnold in Happy Days.
The emperor in Mulan.
And of course, Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid.
All of these roles and more were portrayed by Pat Morita.
Keep watching to find out more about this esteemed actor's lengthy career and his life
outside of acting.
Mr. Miyagi is a master of martial arts.
He's such an impressive and affecting mentor, he managed to reach kids in the real world.
The Karate Kid's popularity is often cited as a primary force in the rise of youth martial
arts academies.
However, Morita's childhood was spent far from the world of strip-mall karate classes.
He actually suffered from a rare disease and was told he'd never be able to walk.
He spent almost a decade of his life in a TB ward called the Weimar Institute.
Eventually, Morita received an experimental treatment that worked.
Morita defied grim expectations and overcame the worst-case scenarios for his disease.
During his illness, Morita was often totally immobilized in a full-body cast that ran from
neck to thigh.
Because of this, he spent much of his time staring at the ceiling, trying to come up
with ways to keep himself entertained.
This is where Morita developed his sense of humor and comedic timing.
"If it wasn't for my disease, I wouldn't be here today."
The hardship of his childhood helped form his personality and made him who he was later
in life.
When Morita was released from the hospital with his disease in check, he was reunited
with his family.
Unfortunately, the year was 1943, and Morita's family were Japanese immigrants.
He recalled being escorted by an FBI agent to the Gila River War Relocation Center in
Arizona.
After a little over a year spent there, his family was transported to California's Tule
Lake War Relocation Center.
Morita was too young to understand why they were being held.
Morita's anger grew as he got older and began to comprehend the truth of the way his family
was treated.
After the war ended, Morita's family opened a restaurant in Sacramento.
Sadly, his father passed away in 1956.
Morita then took an office job to help support his family.
After years of this work, he decided he needed to make a change.
Remarkably, Morita's sense of humor had remained intact through all this tragedy.
He started working as a stand-up comedian.
"Those crazy kids.
They eat at home, come here and use the telephone.
No wonder all the business in the toilet!"
His birth name was Noriyuki Morita, but he used "Pat Morita" as a stage name because
Pat was such a popular name at the time.
Part of what makes Mr. Miyagi such an effective character in The Karate Kid is Morita's comedic
timing and subtle humor.
Stand-up comedy, which he embarked upon in the early 1960s, is where he honed that particular
talent.
Morita was known for his self-deprecating sense of humor.
He would often make himself the butt of his own jokes.
It wasn't long before Morita got a better chance to showcase his talents.
Morita started landing a few bit parts in film and television in the mid-1960s.
They were often roles that would be seen as problematic and stereotypical today.
One of his first-ever film roles was as "Oriental #2" in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Morita quickly started cropping up in sitcoms like The Cosby Show and Green Acres.
Two particular roles helped him break more into the mainstream.
Morita landed the role of Arnold Takahashi on Happy Days, and he had a recurring role
as Ah Chew on Sanford and Son.
This mainstream success actually led to a history-making moment for Morita.
It propelled him into a starring role on Mr. T and Tina as Taro Takahashi.
This was one of TV's first predominantly Asian-American sitcoms.
Unfortunately, the show only lasted a few episodes, but it was an important moment in
in Morita's career and in TV history.
In hindsight, it's easy to look at a film like The Karate Kid and identify Pat Morita
as perfect for the role of Mr. Miyagi.
He embodies the character so flawlessly that it's impossible to imagine anyone else playing
him.
However, Morita traveled a long road to get to the role that would make him a legend.
Jerry Weintraub, the producer behind The Karate Kid, wouldn't even entertain the idea of Morita
playing the role.
Weintraub's reasoning was that Morita was a comedian, and the role of Miyagi was too
nuanced for a comic to handle.
The director of The Karate Kid, John Avildsen, held a private audition with Morita, which
he recorded.
During a later meeting with Weintraub, Avildsen started playing the tape without telling Weintraub
what was going on.
The recorded performance convinced Weintraub that Morita might actually be able to handle
the role.
Morita still had to audition five different times before being cast.
"Noriyuki Morita was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance!
Ralph Maccio showed up."
Morita's career was taken to new heights with his role as Miyagi in The Karate Kid and its
sequels.
He was even nominated for an Oscar.
Morita continued to appear in guest spots on a variety of television shows, including
appearances on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Murder, She Wrote, and Family Matters.
He started landing roles as a voice actor as well.
Children of the 1990s may recall Morita as the host of Britannica's Tales Around the
World, in addition to his performance as the Emperor in Disney's Mulan, a role he reprised
in the sequels and video games like Kingdom Hearts 2.
He even had a posthumous guest role as Master Udon on a 2006 episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.
Morita mostly stuck to guest appearances and film roles after The Karate Kid, but he occasionally
took recurring roles on television.
For example, Morita was part of the central cast of the kids' show The Mystery Files of
Shelby Woo in the late 1990s.
He also played Uncle Pat on the Barney-esque Adventures with Kanga Roddy.
After a long and varied career, Morita died of kidney failure in 2005 at the age of 73.
As fans went on to learn, Morita's lifelong struggle with alcoholism played a part in
his death.
Morita's wife, Evelyn, has said that she was well aware of her husband's addiction, and
that she knew it was only a matter of time before it took him.
The actor himself was aware of it too, and reportedly told his wife that he knew he couldn't
get over his addiction.
Morita's daughter Aly has commented on her father's addiction as well.
Just like Evelyn, she recognizes what a kind and caring soul her father had, underneath
it all.
She has also said that her father struggled with being "a washed-up movie star" following
his Karate Kid success.
Still, as she argues, Morita managed to earn "a little place in history."
Morita's legacy lives on, largely due to his unforgettable performance as Mr. Miyagi.
Few who have seen The Karate Kid can forget Miyagi's lessons to Daniel LaRusso, and the
film still plays a significant role in pop culture.
The Netflix series Cobra Kai centers around several prominent characters from the franchise.
It features a scene in which Daniel visits Miyagi's grave.
Had Morita still been alive, there is no doubt that he would have made a triumphant return
to the series.
Ralph Macchio has said it was important to him and the rest of the cast and crew to pay
tribute.
"He's woven throughout our show."
Morita may be gone, but he is a long way from being forgotten.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.