Overcoming struggles early in life, Pat Morita followed his dream and made a career in entertainment. Immortalized in film and leaving a lasting impact with his performances, he will be missed by a generation who grew up watching him.

Pat Morita poses on the set of "Happy Days"

The Oscar-nominated actor remains one of the most recognizable Asian-American faces on both the small and big screens. From Arnold on “Happy Days” to the wise Mr. Miyagi in “The Karate Kid,” his characters have left a memorable impression.

Morita died of natural causes Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 73.

He was born as Noriyuki Morita on June 28, 1932 in Isleton, Calif. He was the younger of two children and his father worked as an itinerant fruit worker. At the age of two, Morita was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis and was told he would never walk. For the next nine years, he spent the majority of his time in hospitals.

After getting four of his vertebrae fused, he would learn to walk by the age of 11. By this time, his family was already sent to a Japanese-American internment camp. Morita was sent to the Gila Internment Camp in Arizona to join his family.

When the war ended, the family resettled in Sacramento where they opened a restaurant. Morita began his entertainment career here by amusing customers with jokes and emceeing large parties.

After high school, he began working with an aerospace company where he moved up to become the head of the computer operations department. Morita was 30 at this time and decided that this wasn’t the right path to take. He quit his job and became a full-time stand-up comedian.

Years of stand-up landed him a recurring role as Arnold on “Happy Days." His popularity on the series led to him starring in the short-lived series, “Mr. T and Tina.”

In 1983, he convinced the producers of “The Karate Kid” to lift their “no comedians” policy and cast him as Mr. Miyagi. It paid off and Morita was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Although he had been using the name Pat Morita for years, the producers felt a more ethnic name should be used, so he was billed as Noriyuki “Pat” Morita.

In one of his final performances, Morita appears in Lane Nishikawa’s “Only the Brave,” a film about the all-Japanese-American regiment who fought during World War II while their families were held in internment camps back at home.

He is survived by his wife Evelyn and his three daughters from a previous marriage.

Joe Nguyen is a staff writer for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Joe at joe@asiaxpress.com.