Life’s work of Pat Morita

As we remember him, he will always be our Mr. Miyagi that we miss seeing on-screen for many years. I do really miss Pat Morita, he was a great actor that inspired countless martial artists around the world. In an article titled “Goodbye to Pat Morita, Best Supporting Asian,” Lawrence Downes of the New York Times said, “The movie and TV industry has never had many roles for Asian-American men, and it seemed for a while that they all went to Mr. Morita. Whenever a script called for a little Asian guy to drive a taxi, serve drinks or utter wise aphorisms in amusingly broken English, you could count on Mr. Morita to be there.

Born in Isleton, California, Morita was sent to a Japanese-American internment camp as a child. After a long bout with spinal tuberculosis and a stint as a computer programmer, Morita became a popular stand-up comic, which led to his role on TV's '70s hit Happy Days as Arnold, the malt shop owner. That in turn led to The Karate Kid.

To me, Mr. Morita was more than just a small actor. His star was shining brightly over Hollywood and people tend to recognize Mr. Morita's efforts in performing trues martial arts (e.g. The Karate Kid) many years after he departed. 

Already an experienced actor and stand-up comic (sometimes billed as Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, usually as Pat Morita), he was particularly known for his portrayal of the excitable Arnold, owner of the drive-in malt shop in the television series Happy Days (1975-76 and 1982-83), and he was the first Japanese American to star in a television series (Mr T and Tina, 1976). But it was as the diminutive "Miyagi sensei" to Ralph Macchio's "Daniel-san" that he achieved international fame - the film was a huge box-office success and Morita starred in three sequels, two with Macchio and the last with a female pupil played by Hilary Swank.

A small glimpse in Pat Morita's life

When he left the hospital at the age of 11, it was after Pearl Harbor, and he was sent to join his family who, along with 110,000 other Americans of Japanese ancestry, had been put in an internment camp:

I was picked up at the hospital by an FBI agent wearing dark glasses and carrying a gun. I think back to the ludicrous nature of it all: an FBI man escorting a recently able-to-walk 11-year-old to a place behind barbed wire in the middle of nothing!

After the Second World War, his family eventually settled in Sacramento and opened a restaurant serving Chinese food (because of lingering Japanese prejudice). After graduation, he joined an aerospace company, but at the age of 30 decided to pursue a career in comedy. Billed as "The Hip Nip", he gained a reputation in clubs, then was asked to fill in for an ailing headliner at a Hawaiian theatre. Finding an audience of war veterans, many disabled, observing the 25th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, he began by telling them he wanted to apologize, on behalf of his people, for screwing up their harbor. The audience roared with laughter and cemented the comic's reputation.

Miyagi-Do Karate Kid T-shirt

Morita made his screen début in the pastiche of Twenties musicals Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), playing (with Jack Soo) one of two Orientals assisting Beatrice Lillie (as a white slave trader) in her nefarious activities. More than 20 other films preceded his casting in The Karate Kid, including Midway (1976), in which he played a Rear-Admiral indecisive about whether to arm his planes with bombs or torpedoes. He auditioned five times for his star-making role, which he won despite the producers' wanting a Japanese rather than Japanese American actor - they were considering Toshiro Mifune. To make him sound more ethnic on the credits, they asked Morita to use his given name, Noriyuki, rather than his stage name of Pat.

He proved perfect casting, catching the enigmatic character's endearing quirkiness (in one scene he teaches Macchio how to catch flies with chopsticks) and vulnerability (in a memorable drunk scene - partially written by Morita - he confesses his enduring sorrow that his wife and child both died during the child's birth at an ill-equipped internment camp). Morita lost the Oscar to the Cambodian actor Haing S. Ngor (for The Killing Fields).

Morita, who earned an Oscar nomination for “The Karate Kid,” died Nov. 24 at his Los Angeles home of natural causes. He was 73. We truly miss him!

Jerry Lewis and Quotes

Jerry Lewis is a special character! I am actually a big fan of Jerry Lewis and his awesome movies of the past six decades. I will miss Jerry, his laughs, humor and movies. In fact, at +90, Jerry Lewis still continued to impress fans on screen. Will there be any Jerry Lewis again in the next 100 years ? I doubt so, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin's talent cant be copied.. not even by China. Jerry is not only an American actor but also a comedian, singer, film producer, film director, screenwriter and humanitarian.

This blog would probably not be enough to write about Jerry Lewis accomplishments and the numerous amazing things that he did throughout his career. One of the most impressive humanitarian acts was ''The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon. The Telethon was annually held each night before Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The show was founded and hosted by actor and comedian Jerry Lewis, who hosted the broadcast from its 1966 inception until 2010. The charity raised around two billion dollars in 40 years of its activity. The memorable reunion between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis went in the history books.

Jerry Lewis is a proud father of seven children,

With Patti PalmerGary Lewis (born July 31, 1945); known for his 1960s pop group Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Ronald Steven "Ronnie" Lewis (born December 1949 [adopted])
Scott Anthony Lewis[35] (born February 22, 1956)
Christopher Lewis (born October 1957)
Anthony Lewis (born October 1959)
Joseph Lewis (born January 1964, died October 24, 2009 [from a narcotics])

With SanDee Pitnick
Danielle Sara Lewis (adopted March 1992)

Some of Jerry Lewis movie scenes

One of the funnies movies from Jerry Lewis was '' The Orderly Disorderly '' back in 1964. The movie made millions of people laugh.

The Geisha Boy was filmed in 1958 with a young Japanese actress Nobu McCarthy. Sadly, Nobu passed away in 2002 performing on a stage in Brazil. One of the actors is the famous Japanese American movie star Sessue Hayakawa. The movie gives a glimpse of how life used to be in Japan back than. 

Another master piece of Jerry Lewis is the movie '' The Nutty Professor ''. The film is a parody of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Jerry Lewis Political views

Lewis kept a low political profile for many years, having taken advice given to him by his friend, President John F. Kennedy, who told him "Don't get into anything political. Don’t do that because they will usurp your energy". Lewis also once stated that political speeches "did not belong" at the Oscars.

In a 2004 interview, Lewis was asked what he was least proud of, to which he answered politics—not his, but the world’s. He lamented citizens' lack of pride in their country, stating, "President Bush is my president. I will not say anything negative about the president of the United States. I don't do that. And I don't allow my children to do that. Likewise when I come to England don't you do any jokes about 'Mum' to me. That is the Queen of England, you moron".

In a December 2015 interview on EWTN's World Over with Raymond Arroyo, Lewis expressed opposition to the United States letting in Syrian refugees, saying “No one has worked harder for the human condition than I have, but they’re not part of the human condition if 11 guys in that group of 10,000 are ISIS. How can I take that chance?”. In the same interview, he criticized president Barack Obama for not being prepared for ISIS, while expressing support for Donald Trump, saying he would make a good president because he was a "showman". He also added that he admired Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Jerry Lewis famous quotes

''Postwar America was a very buttoned-up nation. Radio shows were run by censors, Presidents wore hats, ladies wore girdles. We came straight out of the blue - nobody was expecting anything like Martin and Lewis. A sexy guy and a monkey is how some people saw us.''

''Pity? You don't want to be pitied because you're a cripple in a wheelchair? Stay in your house!''

''I tell young comics, 'Do you want this badly enough? It's there. But you have to go get it. And if you think I'm going to give you the key to the lock of that door, there is no key, there is no lock, and there is no door.''

''I don't want to be remembered. I want the nice words when I can hear them.''

''If I found the cure for dystrophy tomorrow, I would do a telethon in four weeks for acute pain that in this country is a bigger problem than cancer, heart, sickle cell, anemia, name it. It is - it's hitting 70 million Americans.''

Jerry Lewis today

Jerry Lewis will still remain a great movie star in our hearts and memories. His passing was a great pain for all Jerry Lewis fans around the world. For me at least, it's been a shock knowing that Jerry is no more here with us. The actor expressed shortly before his passing in several TV shows that he will always be on stage and work tirelessly to entertain the public brilliantly as he always did.

Interview with Jerry Lewis