PAT MORITA

Audiences will always remember him as Mr. Miyagi, from The Karate Kid film series—a role which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Academy Award. Did you know that Pat also gets credit for starring in the first few programs that had an Asian American lead? These were Mr. T and Tina and Ohara. He also got his first nomination for Primetime Emmy Award second nomination for Golden Globe Awards in his character as Tommy Tanaka in the movie Amos.

Before Pat experienced all his success, he overcame a lot as a young child. He was only two years old when he developed a serious health issue. Doctors even believed he would not be able to walk, but Pat did everything to overcome this illness and he succeeded. He then became a memorable figure of our childhoods. He died on November 24, 2005, at the age of 73 not because of his health issue but due to natural causes.