In contrast to the Marion Cunningham experience, meeting Morita was nothing like stepping into The Karate Kid for Derek. That episode is unflinchingly described in the documentary.
It’s great, I loved it.”ĭerek says the cast was welcoming and nice, eager to contribute to the legacy of their castmate Morita despite a harrowing story of how his alcoholism spoiled their 30 th reunion show. “Now I’m sitting right next to the Don Most, and we’re doing an interview.
“I grew up watching Happy Days,” says Derek. Reflecting on that period in Morita’s career for the doc are Happy Days cast members Henry Winkler (Fonzie), Anson Williams (Potsie), Don Most (Ralphie), and Marion Ross (Mrs. Happy Days Are Here Againįor those old enough to remember, Morita broke into American households as Arnold, the owner of the self-titled restaurant that everyone hung out in the popular sitcom Happy Days. “That was my chance to ask her if she wants to do a documentary on Pat Morita.” Once Derek had her support, Morita’s celebrity circle were eager to participate. And that stuck with him, and he had all these demons.” A year later when The Real Miyagi came out on Netflix, Guerrero was impressed and moved by it. The director recalls: “She started sharing all these stories about how Pat suffered this, did this, did that, and how his father died in front of his eyes. Making The Real Miyagi became a stepping stone to More Than Miyagi.ĭuring production Derek met Guerrero over sushi. Derek has been practicing Karate since he was nine and was a student of Demura Sensei. Closer to home is Derek’s The Real Miyagi, a documentary about the venerated Karate Sensei Fumio Demura who was the stunt double for Morita in the Karate Kid films. While not directly related, E mpty Hand: The Real Karate Kids follows the personal journeys of four real life Karate competitors as they train in hopes of becoming the next national champion. He’s been involved with two previous documentaries. This isn’t Derek’s first venture into the Miyagi world. Featuring interviews with the casts of The Karate Kid, Happy Days, Morita’s widow Evelyn Guerrero, and many other notable celebrities like Tommy Chong and James Hong, More Than Miyagi reveals the Pat Morita we never knew. More Than Miyagi documents Morita’s tumultuous life, from being bed-bound by tuberculosis as a child to growing up in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, and through his battles with racism, alcohol, and drugs. He also played a wide variety of roles, from cameos as a token Asian in the early years, a stand-up comedian known as ‘the Hip Nip,’ to dramatic roles like the WWII-based I’ll Remember April and Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes. Long before Morita taught Daniel-san (Ralph Macchio) how to crane kick, Morita played a Karate instructor for Bob Hope and Eva Marie Saint in Cancel My Reservation. However, Morita’s TV and film career goes all the way back to 1964. Miyagi in The Karate Kid franchise, and many remember him as Arnold in the hit TV show Happy Days. “They didn’t even know that they were going to shoot Cobra Kai.”Įveryone knows Pat Morita from his beloved Oscar-nominated role as Mr. “We started shooting this back in 2016, so it was a year before Cobra Kai was even in production,” says Derek. The timing for such a doc couldn’t have been better, but it turns out that was simply good fortune. “But (it turns out) millions and millions of people are.”ĭerek is a martial artist, producer, and documentarian, whose latest documentary, More Than Miyagi: The Pat Morita Story, seeks to humanize the man behind some of pop culture’s most mythical characters. “I didn’t really think there were that many people out there who were interested in Mr.
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