Published: March 14, 2008 01:53 pm            

Mr. Movie: Pat Morita

He made a good living in over 100 movies and TV shows, usually as The Oriental. But Pat Morita was born in California in 1932, as American as you or I. He was sent to a notorious internment camp during WWII. He started his show biz career as a stand-up comic billed "The Hip Nip." He died recently at 73.

Mr. Morita's day in the sun came in 1984 when he played the wise and able Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. Ralph Macchio plays a teenager beset by bullies. His unlikely karate instructor and mentor is Mr. Morita who is the gardener where Mr. Macchio lives. He (and we) learn a lot about the physical and mental parts of martial arts, and quite a bit about life. Mr. Morita was nominated for an Oscar but lost out to another Orinetal, Haing S. Ngor for The Killing Fields.

There are three more karate kid films and none are very good. This franchise, like so many, is like the bloodlines of European royalty: the further down the line you go, the thinner it gets!

Pat Morita's movie career began somewhat inauspiciously in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), an OK musical with Carol Channing, Mary Tyler Moore and Julie Andrews. Mr. Morita is billed as Oriental No. 2.

Mr. Morita's big break actually came on TV when he was named to play diner owner Arnold on the long-running and much-loved Happy Days. He even had is own detective series, O'Hara, which he created, wrote and starred in. Too bad it only lasted one season. It was pretty good.

Mulan (1998) is a very good Disney animation about a girl disguising herself as a boy to take her father's place in the Imperial Chinese army. Mr. Morita does the voice of the Emperor, and brings a royal presence to the part.

Honeymoon In Vegas (1992) is wildly uneven but often quite funny. Yeah, it's the one with the parachuting Elvis impersonators. James Caan, Nicholas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker keep things rolling along. Pat Morita is Mahi Mahi, definitely a bit part, but then he was used to bit parts.

All of the movies in this column are available on video and DVD. Happy Days is also available on DVD; O'Hara is not. All are OK for all ages.



Rusty Hammond has been writing the Mr. Movie column since 1996. It appears in several newspapers in North Carolina.

        

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