Profile Text
Birth Name: Noriyuki Morita
Date of Birth: June 28, 1932
Place of Birth: Alameda, California, United States
Date of Death: November 24, 2005
Place of Death: Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Ethnicity: Japanese
Pat Morita, also credited as Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was known in particular for playing Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; and its sequels. His roles also included the films Thoroughly Modern Millie , The Shakiest Gun in the West , Cancel My Reservation , Where Does It Hurt? , Midway (1976), Savannah Smiles , Jimmy the Kid , Slapstick of Another Kind , Captive Hearts , Collision Course (1989), Strawberry Road (1991), Do or Die , Honeymoon in Vegas , Miracle Beach , Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies , American Ninja V , Even Cowgirls Get the Blues , Timemaster , Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite , Spy Hard , Bloodsport III , Mulan (1998), I’ll Remember April , King Cobra , Inferno (1999), Shadow Fury , Volcano High , High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story , Down and Derby , Only the Brave (2006), Spymate , and 18 Fingers of Death! ; the made-for-tv movies Punch and Jody , Babes in Toyland (1986), Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes , and The Karate Dog ; and the series Sanford and Son , Happy Days , Mr. T and Tina , Blansky’s Beauties , Ohara , The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo , and Baywatch .
Pat was the son of Momoe (Fukushima) and Tamaru Morita. His father was from the Kumamoto Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, and moved to the U.S. in 1915. His mother immigrated in 1913. He developed spinal tuberculosis when he was two, and spent most of his early years in the Weimar Institute in Weimar, CA, and later at the Shriners Hospital in San Francisco. During WWII, Pat was interned at Gila River camp in Arizona, and the Tule Lake War Relocation Center. He graduated from high school in Fairfield, California, in 1949. His family operated Ariake Chop Suey in Sacramento.
He was married to actress Evelyn Guerrero, until his death. He had one child with his former wife Kathleen Yamachi; and two children with his former wife Yukiye Kitahara.
Pat’s paternal grandfather was named Sanjiro Morita.
Pat’s paternal grandmother was named Kizu Matusaka.
Pat’s maternal grandfather was named Heijiro Fukushima.
Pat’s maternal grandmother was named Kimi Sakai.