Morita's story is equal parts inspirational and tragic. The post-Karate Kid era, in which Morita succumbed to alcoholism in a downward spiral that likely facilitated his kidney-failure death in 2005. His big break portraying "Arnold" on Happy Days. The building of an acting career, with bit parts in Green Acres, Columbo, MASH, and Sanford & Son. His time spent in an internment camp during World War II, and how shameful of an experience that was for all involved. Viewers are treated to such information as: -Morita's spinal tuberculosis, which confined him to a hospital for most of his childhood. While Karate Kid is touched on a bit (it's too big a part of his story not to be), director Kevin Derek stays true to that overall mission. As the title would indicate, the goal of this documentary is to portray the real life of Morita outside of the Miyagi character. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine his life would be so inspiring/tragic/interesting, and "More Than Miyagi" captures it all perfectly. Outside of Miyagi, however, I had very little knowledge of Morita. Miyagi character is a large part of that.
I consider 1984's "The Karate Kid" to be one of my favorite films of all time. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is shown, and the current day successful spinoff "Kobra Kai" is discussed, yet we are left with a feeling of sadness for a man who accomplished so much, while never achieving his own inner-peace. Only a few actors get to create such an iconic character as Miyagi, and Morita actually played him in four films. Here, Derek simply allows Morita's story to unfold - the ups and downs. Demura was also Morita's stunt double in THE KARATE KID. Kevin Derek also directed THE REAL MIYAGI (2015), which was a profile of Fumio Demura, often recognized as the greatest karate master of a generation. One of the lowest points of his career is retold by Henry Winkler and Evelyn as they remember his struggles with alcoholism during a televised "Happy Days" reunion. We see clips from his wedding at Elvis Presley's Las Vegas mansion, and his personal assistant also provides insight into working with him. Much is made of his being born and raised in America, but spending his career bouncing from Japanese to Chinese roles, and masking the inner turmoil. His wife Evelyn is interviewed here, but his daughters did not participate. He died in 2005 at age 73, but he spent most of his life as an alcoholic - often working while inebriated. referring to him as a "lovely man." So you might be wondering, where's the story? Well it's Morita's personal demons that may surprise. Fellow 'KK' cast members Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and Martin Kove all tell stories about working with Morita, and more importantly rave about what a generous and kind soul he was. Miyagi in THE KARATE KID that made him a star. T and Tina") didn't succeed, he was securing regular acting gigs.
They speak fondly of Morita and call him a "sweet guy." Although Morita's first shot at leading his own series ("Mr. Ron Howard doesn't appear, but Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Danny Most, and Henry Winkler all do. Many of the leads from the cast provide memories of working with Morita. It was his "Happy Days" role as Arnold that took him mainstream. Laura Marr, Lenny Bruce's mother, became Morita's agent, and not only did his stand-up career take off, but he also secured his early acting gigs. Though he never played 'Sullivan', his career turned out just fine thanks to support from Red Foxx.
Morita's professional goal as a stand-up comedian was to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show sporting one of the more politically incorrect nicknames, "The Hip Nip". Once healed, he joined his family in one of the internment camps during WWII. We see photographs of him as a young boy who spent many childhood years immobilized - held captive in a body cast after extensive spinal surgery. Derek takes us through the life of Pat Morita. Using a straightforward and traditional biographical profile structure, Mr. Filmmaker Kevin Derek is here to tell us the rest of the man's story. Miyagi, and also appeared in the three sequels. Pat Morita embraced the iconic role of Mr.
Miyagi not only taught Daniel-san how to stand up for himself in THE KARATE KID (1984), but his "wax on, wax off" entered our lexicon as his philosophy educated us on how seemingly unrelated pieces of life can fit together.