Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was a Japanese-American film and television actor and voice actor, who, for Disney, played Brian the Waiter in Spy Hard, The Emperor of China in Mulan and its sequel, and Wise Man in Boy Meets World. He reprised his role of The Emperor in the video game Kingdom Hearts II, which was his final voice acting role before he passed away on November 24, 2005.
Morita was born on June 28, 1932, in Isleton, California, to Japanese immigrant parents. He attended Armijo High School in Fairfield in 1949, during which, he developed his performance skills through entertaining people at his family's restaurant in Sacramento. Struggling to find work in several comedy clubs, Morita found better luck in Los Angeles where soon found work in acting.
He became known for his roles as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi in the ABC sitcom Happy Days from 1974 to 1984 before gaining acclaim for his portrayal of Keisuke Miyagi in The Karate Kid films. He also narrated the story of Kaguya-Hime in Big Bird in Japan. His other television credits included M*A*S*H, Sanford and Son, Mr. T and Tina, Blansky's Beauties, Ohara, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Murder, She Wrote, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Family Matters, Diagnosis: Murder, and Adventures with Kanga Roddy.
Role[]
External links[]
Pat Morita on Wikipedia- Pat Morita on IMDb
- Pat Morita at Find a Grave
