Japanese actor who appeared in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s, making his screen bow with the Hal Roach film "Turnabout" in 1940. He was often cast in servile roles typical of Asian actors of the time, although he did attempt to challenge roles that comprised the integrity and depiction of his people.
"Pacific Citizen" editor and columnist Larry Tajiri remembered Morita in a 1949 column, solemnly noting that Morita was a devoted Japanese nationalist and that these strong views ultimately led to his end. He returned to Japan in late 1940, reportedly due to the illness of his mother, but Tajiri and writer Greg Robinson suggest that Morita's frustrations with living in the United States (including his inability to attain U.S. citizenship) may have also played a part in his decision to return. He remained in Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, becoming a broadcaster for Radio Tokyo. Tajiri noted that Morita was ultimately sent to the Philippines during the Japanese's occupation of the territory, where he perished in 1945.
Many sites incorrectly give his information as: born 01 October 1896 in Ueda City, Nagano, Japan; died 03 December 1985 in Fresno, California, USA. This not only applies to a completely different person of the same name, but this other Miki Morita was actually a woman.
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