Pat Morita's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) The Bill Cosby Show Tree Surgeon Ohara Lt. Ohara Pryor's Place Joe The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo Mike 'Grand… Adventures with Kanga Roddy Uncle Pat The Queen and I Barney Cook

Main Movie Roles 2009 - Royal Kill 2006 - Only The Brave 2006 - Spymate 2005 - American Fusion 2005 - Down and Derby 2004 - The Last Shot 2004 - Miss Cast Away 2001 - The Center of the World 2000 - Brother 1998 - Mulan 1996 - Spy Hard 1995 - Timemaster 1994 - The Next Karate Kid 1993 - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues 1992 - Gengis Khan 1992 - Honeymoon in Vegas 1992 - Auntie Lee's Meat Pies 1989 - The Karate Kid, Part III 1986 - The Karate Kid, Part II 1984 - The Karate Kid 1982 - Savannah Smiles 1982 - Jimmy the Kid 1980 - When Time Ran Out... 1976 - Midway 1968 - The Shakiest Gun in the West 1967 - Thoroughly Modern Millie

BIOGRAPHY:

Abundantly busy and much loved Asian-American actor who became an on-screen hero to millions of adults and kids alike as the wise and wonderful Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984), the sparkling Noriyuki Morita was back again dishing out Eastern philosophy and martial arts lessons for The Karate Kid, Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid, Part III (1989), and even for The Next Karate Kid (1994).

However, putting all that karate aside, the diminutive Morita actually first started out as a stand-up comedian known as "The Hip Nip" in nightclubs and bars, and made his first on-screen appearance in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). He quickly adapted to the screen and showed up in small parts in such comedies as The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), alongside Don Knotts, and in Evil Roy Slade (1972) (TV) supporting John Astin. He also appeared in such popular series as "Sanford and Son" (1972) and "M*A*S*H" (1972).

Morita got his next break playing the often-perplexed restaurant owner Arnold in two episodes of the hugely popular "Happy Days" (1974) between 1975 and 1976 and again between 1982 and 1983. Morita was quite in demand on the small screen and also scored the lead in his own cop show, "Ohara" (1987), and guest-starred on other high-profile TV shows including "Magnum, P.I." (1980), "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), "Baywatch" (1989) and "The Hughleys" (1998).

Although most often used as a minor character actor, he remained consistently busy and occasionally lent his vocal talents to animated features such as Mulan (1998). However, his real strengths lay in portraying slightly oddball or unusual characters in offbeat films. He died of natural causes at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, NV, in November 2005, at the age of 73.


TRIVIA:

• During his funeral procession, his former co-star 'Ralph Macchio' (qv) of _The Karate Kid (1984)_ (qv) quoted, "Forever, my Sensei" towards the mourners.
• Last movie ever filmed is _Royal Kill (2009)_ (qv) (working title: Princess) also starring 'Eric Roberts (I)' (qv) and 'Lalaine' (qv).
• Was a fan of the Green Bay Packers football team.
• His real accent is American, when playing "Mr. Miyagi" in the Karate Kid movies, he used a faux Japanese accent.
• Buried at Palm Green Valley Memorial Park in Clark County, 6701 North Jones, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
• One of seven actors of Asian descent nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category. The others are 'Miyoshi Umeki' (qv) who won Best Supporting Actress nominated for _Sayonara (1957)_ (qv), 'Sessue Hayakawa' (qv) nominated for _The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)_ (qv), 'Mako (I)' (qv) nominated for _The Sand Pebbles (1966)_ (qv), 'Haing S. Ngor' (qv) who won Best Supporting Actor for _The Killing Fields (1984)_ (qv), 'Ken Watanabe (I)' (qv) nominated for _The Last Samurai (2003)_ (qv) and 'Rinko Kikuchi' (qv) nominated for _Babel (2006)_ (qv).
• Had three daughters with Yuki
• Graduated from Armijo High School in Fairfield, California.