R.i.p. Pat Morita...mr. Miyagi...

[Zor Primus]

LOS ANGELES - Actor

Pat Morita, whose portrayal of the wise and dry-witted Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid" earned him an Oscar nomination, has died. He was 73.

Morita died Thursday at his home in Las Vegas of natural causes, said his wife of 12 years, Evelyn. She said in a statement that her husband, who first rose to fame with a role on "Happy Days," had "dedicated his entire life to acting and comedy."

In 1984, he appeared in the role that would define his career and spawn countless affectionate imitations. As Kesuke Miyagi, the mentor to

Ralph Macchio's "Daniel-san," he taught karate while trying to catch flies with chopsticks and offering such advice as "wax on, wax off" to guide Daniel through chores to improve his skills.

Morita said in a 1986 interview with The Associated Press he was billed as Noriyuki "Pat" Morita in the film because producer Jerry Weintraub wanted him to sound more ethnic. He said he used the billing because it was "the only name my parents gave me."

He lost the 1984 best supporting actor award to Haing S. Ngor, who appeared in "The Killing Fields."

For years, Morita played small and sometimes demeaning roles in such films as "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and TV series such as "The Odd Couple" and "Green Acres." His first breakthrough came with "Happy Days," and he followed with his own brief series, "Mr. T and Tina."

"The Karate Kid," led to three sequels, the last of which, 1994's "The Next Karate Kid," paired him with a young

Hilary Swank.

Morita was prolific outside of the "Karate Kid" series as well, appearing in "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Spy Hard," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "The Center of the World." He also provided the voice for a character in the Disney movie "Mulan" in 1998.

Born in northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant fruit pickers, Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered only to be sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

"One day I was an invalid," he recalled in a 1989 AP interview. "The next day I was public enemy No. 1 being escorted to an internment camp by an

FBI agent wearing a piece."

After the war, Morita's family tried to repair their finances by operating a Sacramento restaurant. It was there that Morita first tried his comedy on patrons.

Because prospects for a Japanese-American standup comic seemed poor, Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But at age 30 he entered show business full time.

"Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did," he commented. "If I tried it in Japan before the war, it would have been considered blasphemy, and I would have ended in leg irons. "

Morita was to be buried at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters from a previous marriage.

[Apollo Leader]

No more "Wax on, wax off" or "Side-da-side" either.

It's because of Mr. Miyagi that every Dan or Daniel I know I end up calling "Daniel-san".

RIP Pat!

[zeo-mare]

He will be missed.

chris

[eugimon]

sad, I loved the jolly little guy.

[Major Johnathan]

Damn, were all getting old. I'm a little surprised by this, I remember seeing Pat Morita in some interview not so long ago and he looked fine. Too bad, he was a nice guy and could be funny as hell.

RIP Pat Morita.

[Hikuro]

the last time I can really remember seeing him he was in a Nick TV show about some asian girl who likes to solve mysteries in her grandfathers hotel or something.

I never really paid much attention to his carreer.....but damn, that hurts.

[the white drew carey]

Wow.

I normally don't post in these threads, but this one matters a lot!

R.I.P. Pat Morita.

[Mechamaniac]

That sucks, RIP Morita Sama

[Gaijin]

RIP Pat...you'll be missed.

[kensei]

RIP Pat.

As a memoir of your great work, I pre-ordered the Karate Kid collection for next Friday. I can hardly remember seeing TKK 1, 2 and 3.

[myk]

I enjoyed the scene in TKK 2, that had Mr. Miyagi going into Mr. Silva's dojo and cleaning house with Mr. Silva and the dude from the (lol) Cobra-Kai dojo...

[Skullsixx]

R.I.P. Pat... and thank you for the wonderful movie memories that you left for all to enjoy... God Bless!

[Jin_Kune_Do]

When i think about it now...Pat actually inspired me to start in the martial arts.

RIP Pat.

- Jin

[Kin]

He learned me how to stand on 1 leg without falling

[vlenhoff]

RIP Pat

This is just like a reminder that no one is inmortal, except me.

I can't believe it really makes me sad. I guess he looks like a really nice guy in the KK movies.