Dark Matters remembers actor Pat Morita, born Noriyuki Morita in Isleton, CA, on June 28, 1932, and died November 24, 2005. It’s surprising to learn that Morita was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis at age 2, spent most of the nine following years in hospitals, at times wore a full bodycast, and was told he’d never walk again. At the age of 11, he had extensive spinal surgery and began the journey of learning how to walk. After his recovery he joined his family, who were being detained at a Japanese internment camp in Arizona during WWII.
After the war and their release, Morita’s family operated a restaurant, while he worked at various jobs, incuding a data clerk; he also began his career as a stand-up comedian, also performing in an improv comedy troupe called The Groundlings. His first film role was as a stereotypical “henchman” in the 1967 musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” with Julie Andrews. A recurring role as a South Korean army captain in the TV show “M.A.S.H.” helped advance his career.
One of his best-known roles was on the hit show “Happy Days” as Matsuo “Arnold” Takahashi, owner of the diner Arnold’s for the show’s third season. He left “Happy Days” to star in the TV show “Mr. T. and Tina,” which although short-lived, was the first Asian-American sitcom on network TV. The other famous role is, of course, as Mr. Miyagi with Ralph Macchio in the three “Karate Kid” movies in the 1980s. For this performance, Morita was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.
Besides these famous roles, Morita accumulated a long list of performances in his career in shows like TV movie “Amos” for which he earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, TV shows “The Incredible Hulk,” “Love Boat,” “Blanksy’s Beauties,” “Baywatch,” “Sanford and Son,” “Love American Style,” and the lead role as Lieutenant Ohara in the crime drama “Ohara.” His film career includes performances in movies such as the sci fi flick “Shadow Fury,” horror movie, “Full Moon High,” “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” and “Mulan” (voice).
Pat Morita paved the way for Asian-American actors, and he continues to be missed.
Happy birthday to actor Yancey Arias, born June 27, 1971, in NYC. Of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent, Arias first demonstrated his talent for performing as a child. A professional singer, he began singing at 12, and his ability to act was discovered during his high school years, when he was selected to study drama summers at Stage Door Manor in New York state. Arias went on to study drama at Carnegie Mellon University, but left his junior year for a five-year stint performing in Miss Saigon on Broadway.
A familiar face to TV viewers, Arias first appeared on television as Emilio Gonzales on soap opera “One Life to Live” from 1994 to 1997. He’s also had roles in a long list of shows, including “The Mentalist,” “Knight Rider,” “Bones,” “Medium,” as appeared in movies like “Legion,” “Live Free or Die Hard,” “The Time Machine,” “CSI” and “CSI: Miami,” the miniseries “Kingpin,” “Charmed,” “The Sopranos,” “Elementary,” “Warehouse 13,” “Revenge,” and “Castle.”
With less of a presence on the “big screen,” Arias still has seen success playing in “Live Free or Die Hard,” and genre flicks, “The Time Machine” and “Legion.”
At only 43, Yancey Arias has seen much success, and with three releases due this year and in 2015, he is sure to continue to making his mark on both the small and big screens.
Read here about the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’s picks
(Wondering why Game of Thrones is nowhere to be found, however, and how Breaking Bad qualifies as “genre”. If anyone out there knows, please share with us!)
Well-known character actor Kene Holliday was born on June 25, 1949, in Long Island, New York.
Holliday is best known for his role as private investigator Tyler Hudson on Andy Griffith’s hit ’80s show “Matlock,” but also had genre-based roles on screen in “G.I. Joe: The Movie,” “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” and TV’s “The Incredible Hulk,” as well as voicing the role of Roadblock in the G.I. Joe cartoon.
Holliday also appeared in well-known and well-loved shows “The Jeffersons,” “Kojak,” “What’s Happening,” “Benson,” “Hart to Hart,” “Roots: The Next Generations,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” “Soap,” and Holliday’s first sit-com “Carter Country” (a show about a small-town, Southern police station that, personally, I found hilarious at eight years old).
Holliday’s most recent career success was being nominated for a 2008 Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performance and a 2008 Independent Spirit Award for Supporting Male for his role as a member of a record producing team in award-winning director Craig Zobel’s comedy, “Great World of Sound.” And in 2009, he started theater company Moto Theatre Works in Long Island.
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