BLOG: Shadows of Renowned Actor Examined in Daughter’s Personal Essay

Books, regardless of genre and context, are great resources of reading material- if written properly, that is- and throughout my book blog series so far, I’ve strived to emphasize that through reviewing and examining as many different works as I can.  However, sometimes we need to remember that not all intimate, thought-provoking written dialogue comes in the form of a book.  As we are well aware of in the age of technology, it can come in other forms as well.

Therefore, this time around, I want to take a step away from books and instead analyze a personal essay I accidently stumbled across online the other week.  It was a piece that was published in the 20th issue of San Francisco’s own Hyphen Magazine; the theme for that issue appropriately being Inside/Out.

The personal essay was written by Aly Morita, daughter of late actor Noriyuki “Pat” Morita.  In the essay entitled “Papa-San: Pat Morita’s Daughter on the Waxing and Waning of Her Father’s Life,” Aly discusses her father’s high points and low points in his long-lived acting career; from the struggles of being one of the few Asian-Americans in the entertainment industry back in the day, to his rise to fame from portraying Mr. Miyagi in the iconic  “Karate Kid” films.

As much as even his closest fans think they knew him, Aly shows otherwise as she goes into detail about his early life battling tuberculosis, his time spent in Hawaii as he was continuously out of work, the downside of being recognized as the portrayer of Mr. Miyagi and his unfortunate state of being by the time of his untimely death on Thanksgiving Day 2005.

Amidst the darkness and hardness of his life, Aly did shed light on a personal philosophy of his.  Pat believed “how” you do something and how you need to do what you think is right is the benefactor to getting where you want to go in your pursuits.  It is with that philosophy that, despite his struggles, encompassed his pathway to making his contributing dent in Hollywood history.

When I really think about it, Pat Morita is one of my favorite actors, even now over seven years after his death.  While some people may have been exposed to him from “Happy Days” or “The Karate Kid,” my first exposure to him was through a kids show I used to watch that was filmed here in the Bay Area in the late 90’s.  This would only follow up by being exposed to him as the voice behind the Emperor in the 1998 Disney film “Mulan” before finally watching him in “The Karate Kid” two decades after its release.

It’s remarkable how someone can have so much baggage weighing on their shoulders without ever really making it evident.  It had to take the voice of someone close to him- his daughter in this case- to say otherwise that everything was not smooth sailing for him in the entertainment industry at the time.

While the personal essay is thought-provoking and deep, I actually was a little misguided on the point of it.  While Aly did acknowledge the successes of her father, it wasn’t anywhere near as her descriptions of the ongoing misfortunes he was constantly hurdled through.

I agreed with Aly when she said that Pat earned a little place in history; I just wish she had emphasized more about that.  While he was one of a few Asian-Americans in the industry for its time, in a way I could see why.  He was a clever actor at being able to both incorporate his wittiness and the ability to evoke wisdom simultaneously- from the roles in which I’ve seen him portray anyway.

Also, Aly mentioned how her father was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mr. Miyagi.  I really wished she had talked more about that; about his reaction when he found out the news, the day of the Academy Awards and other details as well.  Even though he never won anything, receiving a nomination that prestigious is an honor all on its own.

After all, Aly did say that Pat gave his all as Mr. Miyagi, for he knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of role.

In other words, I just wish Aly emphasized more about the positive moments of her father’s career.  Everyone, famous or not, deals with good things and bad things in their lifetime.  However, it’s all about finding a balance amongst the two.

Despite the large focus on Pat’s struggles with stardom, I still would recommend reading his daughter’s personal essay.  It breathes a new perspective to a man who left behind a legacy in his own unique way.

To read “Papa-San: Pat Morita’s Daughter on the Waxing and Waning of Her Father’s Life” on Hyphen Magazine, click here to go directly to it: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/magazine/issue-20-insideout/papa-san-pat-morita%E2%80%99s-daughter-waxing-and-waning-her-father%E2%80%99s-life.