‘The Karate Kid’ actor dies: his family and former colleagues mourn his passing

Actor Pat E. Johnson, who was involved in front of and behind the camera in “The Karate Kid” movies, has died, his family has confirmed.

The actor’s wife, Susan, revealed in a specific Facebook post that he died at the age of 84 on Sunday, November 5.

“I was blessed to have all my children here with me, we cried, we laughed, we hugged. My 54 years of life are now at peace and I am blessed with so many incredible memories, friends, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” she said.

According to Variety, the artist died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles, California.

In addition to refereeing the matches faced by ‘Daniel Larusso’ played by Ralph Macchio at the end of ‘The Karate Kid I’ and ‘The Karate Kid III’, Pat E. Johnson assisted in the production.

As a ninth-degree black belt, he trained several of the cast members, such as Pat Morita, who portrayed “Mr. Miyagi” in the saga, according to the aforementioned media.

In fact, he was the one who taught Macchio the now iconic “crane kick” that won “Daniel” the All Valley Karate Tournament Championship on the first tape.

Relatives and former colleagues of Pat E. Johnson mourn his passing

Pat E. Johnson’s niece, Collen Mary Johnson Summerville, also took to the aforementioned social network to share a heartfelt message about her passing.

“(He) has been good to me since I was a little girl and I loved my father Lloyd (his brother) very much. Thanks to him I have the most incredible woman in my life, my aunt ‘Sue’ and I will be eternally grateful to her,” he noted.

“Pat will always be legendary to many, including our family. Rest in peace uncle, you fought a good fight,” he added.

He accompanied that letter with a series of old photos of the athlete, some showing him alongside Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.

For his part, the star of feature films used his stories on Instagram to speak in the midst of mourning.

“My ultimate friend, teacher and entertainer. Be with me today and always,” she captioned above a postcard in which they are seen embracing.

William Zabka, who played ‘Johnny’ Lorenzo in the three ‘movies’, did the same by posting a more current portrait of the late star on his account on the digital platform.

“Rest in peace my dear friend, teacher and mentor,” she captioned the image, adding broken heart, fist and prayer emojis.

Pat E. Johnson was born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1939. He was introduced to karate while serving as a US Army chaplain in Korea in 1963.