but he was uncle nori to me. i hadn’t seen him in years, but it was still very sad to learn that pat morita passed away on thanksgiving.
i grew up knowing we were related to him and being proud because of that. i also knew that roles for asian american actors were sparse, so him being famous for playing a karate master from okinawa with a japanese accent when he was actually born near stockton, ca and raised in southern california was mildly entertaining.
we saw him when we saw most of our other relatives–at weddings and funerals. he even did the eulogy for my grandmother when she passed away in 1984. but we didn’t know he was gone until someone in the family saw it on the news.
he’ll definitely be missed…
so THAT’s why he looked like your relatives…;)
it was very cool seeing him back in september when i went to the japanese american cultural center’s hall of fame, and he looked fine back then, so it was a shock to me and the husband that he passed on thursday…
considering what he had to go through to make it, he was definitely a trailblazer…and deserves our respect.
Sorry to hear about that.
-H
Yeah, sad.
*moment of silence*
Sorry to hear that Yoshi, I had no idea you were related. He seemed like he was a very nice man - I met him once - and will be missed by millions of people.
Yoshi- You and your family have my deepest sympathies. As you certainly know, your “uncle Nori” was loved by millions around the world, including me. He will forever be a part of my youth.