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.

We have a little tribute today for him on the blog:
http://sitcomsonline.blogspot.com/

I posted this info but my obit was deleted, I guess I just wasn't fast enough.

R.I.P. Pat:(

RIP Pat Morita

I also liked him as A-Chu on Sanford and Son for the little bit he was on it. I wonder if now we might be able to see Mr T and Tina.

:rip:

That's so sad! May he rest in peace.

Another great person dead. I'm just dismayed at all this news lately. Enough is enough, I mean.

Rest in peace, Mr. Morita.

Pat

Rest in peace, Pat Morita. :(

73 is too young. He had a quite a life. Goodbye Pat.

RIP Arnold. :(

RIP Pat Arnold was AWESOME

My condolonces to the HD community. I'm not an HD fan but a huge Pat Morita one. Mr. Miyagi will forever be an iconic film figure forever, thanks to Pat's awesome abilities.

RIP Mr. Morita, you were awesome.

RIP Arnold........

I tried to find a pic of him and his wife, Evelyn Guerrero. No luck, but I did find one of her.
BTW, his wife Evelyn was the girl prominently featured in the Cheech & Chong movies. She also appeared in Playboy. She loved him very much and they made such a beautiful couple. May he rest in peace. He was such a wonderful and funny man.

RIP Pat, you were a truly amazing actor, and you'll be forever missed :(

73 is too young. He had a quite a life. Goodbye Pat.
How sad. :(. May he rest in peace.:rip:

I will forever remember Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi. I was such a fan of the Karate Kid movies as a kid. He was apart of my childhood growing up. RIP Pat.

I really am getting sick of losing these celebrities, but I hope he rests in peace. I liked Arnold, he made me laugh.

Tiff7

Happy holidays yall

I was very sad to hear of Pat's passing. I truly enjoyed his memorable performances in the Karate Kid movie series, as well as his role on Happy Days. He will certainly be missed... :(

RIP Pat :rip:

:crying: We Will Never Forget All The Laughs And Great Moments You Gave Us. :crying:

do u think their have a Happy days marathon dedicated to his memory and sanford and son as well on tv land.think be only right

I always did like Arnold better than Al!

Seriously though, this is a sad loss for those of us who grew up on Happy Days and the Karate Kid movies. Noriyuki "Pat" Morita proved that he could carry off comedic and dramatic roles with equal flair.

I'm sure Morita was probably kicking himself for leaving Happy Days when Mr. T and Tina tanked after only a few episodes in 1976, but at least he got some career redemption later as Mr. Miyagi and in other roles.

The ironic thing is that Morita had to conjure up an asian accent for his roles as Arnold and Miyagi because he was a native-born Californian. He talked inventing a voice for Arnold on the Happy Days reunion special in 1992.

We'll always have season three of Happy Days to remind us all of the greatness of Noriyuki "Pat" Morita.

Very sad and unexpected news to hear. He seemed like a very warm and friendly person. The Karate Kid has to be one of my all-time favorite movies to this day. He really should have won an Oscar for the role.

I've uploaded a few photos of him in his honor:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/945

R.I.P. Pat Morita.You are a great actor.:(

I remember Pat Morita as Miyagi in The Karate Kid movies and Arnold on Happy Days. He actually had two stints in the role as well as playing the same character on Blansky's Beauties. BTW, Arnold's real name was Mitsuo Takahashi. Pat Morita may be gone but the memory lives on in reruns.

he was a plus to the whole happy days cast RIP.arnold

He was great as Arnold. He will be missed. :(

Man, that's so sad...Rest In Peace, Pat Morita. Watching his HD Episodes will never be the same. :(

So sorry to hear about him. Altho I saw the Karate Kid, to me he will always be Arnold. I've liked Happy Days ever since the first episode came on tv in the 70's. At one time my friends & I had a thing for Fonzie. Me & one of my friends wrote Fonzie a love letter many yrs ago when we were in high school. Anyway my condelences to the family & RIP...

Unfortunately, the late pat morita is now the first official member of the HD cast the pass on. as far as I know...now ...who would be next.
Quie a shame. RIP . Now, we should be aware that not everyone lives forever and we are all mortal. This is why we should be happy to and persistant in getting surviving members of the HD cast to possibly do an actual episodic reunionshow. Who knows? That week, the episodes of Arnolds wedding and Arnolds coming back to Arnolds in the 80s played. Then that Friday, I remember hearing the news as I entered Philidelphia....thinking wow...what or how would one HD fan feel if it was Henry or Ron? I would think Henry would make an impact on society if something happened. Aftr all he is the Fonz! he is still human . Let us be thankful he is here for now. he isgetting up there. tom Bosley is well up there ...Al..and Marion....

Unfortunately, the late pat morita is now the first official member of the HD cast the pass on. as far as I know...now ...who would be next.
Quie a shame. RIP . Now, we should be aware that not everyone lives forever and we are all mortal. This is why we should be happy to and persistant in getting surviving members of the HD cast to possibly do an actual episodic reunionshow. Who knows? That week, the episodes of Arnolds wedding and Arnolds coming back to Arnolds in the 80s played. Then that Friday, I remember hearing the news as I entered Philidelphia....thinking wow...what or how would one HD fan feel if it was Henry or Ron? I would think Henry would make an impact on society if something happened. Aftr all he is the Fonz! he is still human . Let us be thankful he is here for now. he isgetting up there. tom Bosley is well up there ...Al..and Marion....
Heather O'Rourke has already died too. :(

RIP. :(

Unfortunately, the late pat morita is now the first official member of the HD cast the pass on.

Actually, Heather O'Rourke (Heather Pfister) was first. She died on feb 1, 1988 at the age of 12.

(I didn't realize that DallasCowboysFanatic had already posted this, I just wasted my time as usual.)

Heather O'Rourke has already died too. :(

:( I don't know why I even bother trying to post. No matter what it is, Somebody always beats me to it.:lol:

I was recording "Arnold's Wedding" on DVD when I heard the news. Very sad indeed.

RIP Pat Morita :rip:

Pat Morita is the first of the Happy Days main cast to leave us. So that takes care of that streak of none of them passing away.

They mentioned only Anson Williams as an attendee to his service, but I'm sure more of the HD cast were there.

Pat Morita is the first of the Happy Days main cast to leave us. So that takes care of that streak of none of them passing away.
With all due respect, Morita was not one of the Happy Days main cast. He was a recurring guest star.

There's an article about him in Entertainment Weekly where Ron Howard pays tribute to him. Remember that weird noise Arnold made sometimes (hrm hrm)? That was because Pat Morita forgot his lines sometimes and he would make that noise when he blew a line. The HD producers thought it was funny and left it in.

He will be greatly missed.
Sorry. I was in a hotel in San Diego in my transit from Japan when I heard and didn't have computer access to respond earlier, but my thoughts were with his family and his fans here on the message board.
~Pat