Pat Morita: The Sensei of all Senseis
“Wax On, Wax Off. Wax On, Wax Off.” This classic quotation was spoken by a 5’3’’ American-born Asian actor who gained international fame for his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 cult classic film The Karate Kid (1984). The film earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nomination for the performance, and he reprised it for its three subsequent sequels: The Karate Kid part 2 (1986), The Karate Kid part 3 (1989) and The Next Karate Kid (1994). Noriyuki “Pat” Morita was born in Iselton, California on June 28th, 1932 and passed away on November 24th, 2005 at age 73. He will forever be remembered as Mr. Miyagi, but he had an intriguing career both prior to and after “Karate Kid.”
Morita unfortunately developed tuberculosis at the age of 2 and spent the majority of the next nine years of his life in Northern California hospitals. Told he would never walk, by the age of 11, he had undergone spinal surgery and training on how to walk, and miraculously recovered. His family also ran a restaurant called Ariake Chop Suey in Sacramento where he would entertain customers with jokes and even serve as a “MC” for group dinners. This led him to try performing as a stand-up comedian.
On occasion, he would perform as the opening act for Vic Damone, Connie Stevens, and comedian Redd Foxx. As a result Foxx saw to it that Morita was cast in the role of “Ah Chew” on Sanford and Son (1972-1977). He also made bit appearances in film and television shows such as Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968) and Green Acres (1965-1971). Ultimately, while doing “Sanford and Son,” Morita also landed the role of Matsuo “Arnold” Takahashi in Happy Days (1974-1984).
Ironically, there is an episode of “Happy Days,” entitled “Richie Fights Back,” in which Morita’s character teaches Ron Howard (as Richie Cunningham) martial arts when he gets bullied in front of his girlfriend. The episode aired on television in 1975, almost a decade before “Karate Kid” was released. The same year as “The Next Karate Kid,” in 1994, Morita starred in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996), in a similar role.
After making the entire “Karate Kid” series Disney cast Pat Morita as the voice of the Emperor in Mulan (1998), and he reprised it for the direct-to-video sequel, Mulan 2 (2004) and the Disney Video Game Kingdom Hearts 2 (2005). He was also seen in an episode of Disney’s/ABC’s Boy Meets World (1993-2000). Before his untimely death, Pat Morita also lent his voice to an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present) in the episode entitled “Karate Island,” as the character, Master Udon.
Despite losing the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields (1984), Pat Morita will never be forgotten as the “Sensei” who teaches karate/martial arts in the most unconventional ways. Morita brought many wonderful characteristics to the performance, including a distinctive voice different from his own native origin. During his funeral, his “Karate Kid,” co-star, Ralph Macchio gave a touching eulogy in which last words were “Forever, my Sensei.”
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