The Karate “KID”

It was a sad day around the world when Pat Moriat died. One of the biggest celebrities in Karate

 

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.

But No matter what happens it still cracks me up that Ralph Macchio the karate “KID” since he was born in 1961 and “The Karate Kid” was done in 1984 he was already 23 years old and continued to play the same role in 1986 and 1989 making him almost 30 years old as he played the final role.

A dark, “ethnic” and lithe young lead of 1980s Hollywood, Ralph Macchio saw his film career sputter as he outgrew teenaged roles. A contemporary Sal Mineo, he fared best playing New York street kids wavering between going bad or succeeding in life. He gained stardom, first in the teen must-see flick, “The Outsiders,” (1983) before reaching superstardom as the lead in “The Karate Kid” (1984) and its two sequels. Like Michael J. Fox, he was hampered by a boyish look that belied his age.

Born Nov. 4, 1961 in Hunington, Long Island, NY, Macchio began his career landing NY-based TV commercials. By 1980, he was landing roles in feature films, playing the “operator” Chooch in MAD Magazine’s “Up the Academy.” Following its release, he joined the ABC series “Eight Is Enough” (1977-81) playing Betty Buckley’s nephew with hoodlum tendencies who needed a good straightening out by the Bradford Family. Macchio’s energy added much needed life to the mild-mannered series, resulting in the teen’s face smothered across every month’s issues of Tiger Beat and Teen Beat. Although the show was canceled following his 1980-81 season, Macchio’s work on “Eight” helped land him the lead in the CBS Afternoon Playhouse production, “Dangerous Company” (CBS, 1982). Macchio also starred in “The Three Wishes of Billy Grier” (ABC, 1984), playing a young man who asks for help so that he can do three things before he dies.

Around this time, Macchio was cast by Francis Ford Coppola and team in the iconic teen angst film, “The Outsiders” (1983). Based on S.E. Hinton’s classic “young adult” novel, the film boasted a cast packed with the up-and-coming young leads of the day, including future stars Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise. While Howell had the lead, Macchio was his best friend, the sympathetic Johnny Cade. Strongly reminiscent of Mineo’s portrayal of Plato in Nicholas Ray’s 1955 classic, “Rebel Without a Cause,” Macchio’s Johnny was a quiet, soulful youngster with a good heart and some bad breaks. Of course, he met a suitably tragic end – but not before being redeemed. Because Macchio took his role the most seriously of the partying pack of preteen and teenage boys let lose on location in Tulsa, OK, he generally received the best critical reviews of them all for his heartbreaking portrayal.

Enjoying his post-Johnny Cade fandom among teenage girls, Macchio became a true leading man in 1984 when he landed the role of Daniel LaRusso – an east coast kid transplanted to southern California along with mom – who quickly makes all the wrong enemies at school in “The Karate Kid.” Through martial arts training as taught to him by Noriyuki ‘Pat’ Morita, Macchio not only wins the the competition at film’s end, but the girl as well. An unsuspected success in the summer of ‘84, Macchio starred in two sequels released in 1986 and 1989. His other starring roles included playing a troubled student in “Teachers;” a young blues-loving urban man who offers to take a forgotten blues legend back to Mississippi in return for some songs in Walter Hill’s “Crossroads” (both 1986); and a man abandoned by his Vietnam veteran father (John Lithgow), but determined to find him in “Distant Thunder” (1988). Macchio outgrew the urban youth characterizations and watched as male lead roles became few and far between – thanks in large part to his ever youthful looks. His last major showing on the big screen was as the arrested nephew who calls his sketchy uncle Joe Pesci for legal help in the minor comedy hit, “My Cousin Vinny” (1992). Macchio’s thankless role was overshadowed by the furniture-chewing going on around him between Pesci and future (and surprisingly) Academy Award-winner, Marisa Tomei. It was two years before Macchio was again on the big screen, this time in the independent film, “Naked in New York” (1994), but few fans even noticed.

Never one to wallow in past successes, Macchio shifted his big screen focus to the stage, making his Off-Broadway debut in 1986 alongside Robert De Niro in “Cuba and His Teddy Bear,” which was successful enough to make its way to Broadway. Macchio was again Off-Broadway in “Only Kidding” in 1989. In 1996, he played Finch in the road company production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”

Though often a “Whatever became of?” hallmark in the late 90s and into the 21st century, Macchio did make an onscreen appearance as himself on HBO’s Hollywood hit, “Entourage” (2004- ) in 2005. Playing the old buddy of a former teen star played by Kevin Dillon, (ironic, since in real-life, Macchio was friends with fellow “Outsider” Matt Dillon – Kevin’s big brother), Macchio barely let Kevin on his porch, let alone in his house – explaining that he had grown up and had a family now. The humorous turn, something fans had not seen for some time, culminated in Dillon and Macchio starting trouble at the Playboy Mansion and nearly being thrown out by Hefner himself. Fans were happy to see him back and – not shockingly – looking as if he had not aged a day in twenty odd years.

Amazing that he was not a “KID” at all

thanks to Yahoo Movies for the information provided above.

Latter…

Nick

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