LOS ANGELES, Nov 26: American-Japanese actor Pat Morita, who starred as the wise Mr Miyagi in the ‘Karate Kid’ films, died on Friday. He was 73. Morita died at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, from natural causes, his wife Evelyn said.

His parents were Japanese immigrants who moved to California and became fruit-pickers. The actor was born Noriuke Morita in 1932 and was among thousands of Japanese-Americans sent to internment camps during World War II.

Morita later abandoned a career as an aircraft technician to become a comedian. He became a star for his role as Ralph Macchio’s mentor Mr Miyagi in ‘The Karate Kid’ films. He was nominated for the best supporting actor after the first in 1984.

Morita was only 1.6 metres tall and knew nothing about martial arts but handed out as a quiet caretaker who guided teenager Macchio to fight back against his bullies. There were three sequels in 1986, 1989 and 1994 and he also appeared in series such as ‘Magnum’ and ‘Baywatch’. —AFP