CNN.com - Pat Morita, 'Karate Kid's' Mr. Miyagi, dies - Nov 25, 2005

CNN.com - Pat Morita, 'Karate Kid's' Mr. Miyagi, dies - Nov 25, 2005: "Born in northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant fruit pickers, Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered only to be sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II."

"Because prospects for a Japanese-American standup comic seemed poor, Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But at age 30 he entered show business full time.

"Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did," he commented. "If I tried it in Japan before the war, it would have been considered blasphemy, and I would have ended in leg irons. "

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