Early lifeBorn in Isleton, California, the son of an itinerant fruit worker, Morita developed spinal tuberculosis at age two and spent the bulk of the next nine years in Northern California hospitals, including the Shriners Hospital in San Francisco. He was for long periods wrapped in a full body cast and was told he would never walk. The boy, often alone and isolated, made sock puppets to entertain himself.
After a surgeon fused four vertebrae in his spine, Noriyuki finally learned to walk again at age 11. By then, his Japanese American family had been sent to an internment camp to be detained for the duration of World War II. The boy was transported from the hospital directly to the camp in Arizona to join them.
For a time after the war, the family operated Ariake Chop Suey, a restaurant in Sacramento, California. Teenage "Nori" would entertain customers with jokes and serve as master of ceremonies for group dinners.
Noriyuki graduated from high school in Fairfield, California and shortly thereafter moved back to the Sacramento area, where he took a job with Aerojet-General, an aerospace company that designed and manufactured rocket engines.
It was only after working his way up to head of a computer operations department that Morita, by now a husband and father, and also seriously overweight, decided he had taken the wrong life path. He quit and became a standup comedian.
Comedy and improv
"Pat" Morita, often billed as "the Hip Nip" in his standup act, became a member of the Los Angeles improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings. He always said he loved being around one of his best friends Marc Mader.
TV roles lead to movies
A recurring role as a Korean national on the sitcom M*A*S*H helped advance the comedian's acting career. His portrayal of malt-shop owner Arnold on Happy Days made him a household face and name.
Although Morita gained worldwide fame playing a wise karate teacher in The Karate Kid and its sequels, he never formally practiced a martial art and most of his karate scenes in movies were performed by stunt double (and noted shito-ryu karate-ka) Fumio Demura. Although he had been using the name "Pat Morita" for years, producer Jerry Weintraub suggested that Pat be billed with his given name to sound more ethnic.
Death
Morita died Thursday, November 24, 2005, at his home in Las Vegas, of natural causes at age 73. Morita is to be buried at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery. He is survived by his second wife, actress Evelyn Guerrero, and three daughters from his previous marriage to Yuki Morita-Scott.
Filmography
* M*A*S*H
* Happy Days
* Sanford and Son
* Mr. T and Tina
* Midway
* The Karate Kid
* The Karate Kid Part II
* The Karate Kid Part III
* Honeymoon in Vegas
* Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
* Spy Hard
* Mulan
* The Next Karate Kid
* The Karate Dog
* The Hughleys
Eric Cartman has long been one of my favorite characters on TV. he usually leads the show while it brilliantly pokes fun at humanity. it's not unusual for larger populations like politicians, Canadians, and the religious to be the butts of jokes, but seldom do unimportant groups get this sort of attention.... a whole half hour dedicated to the recessive-gened ginger kids! 
