Pat E. Johnson, ‘Karate Kid’ Referee and Trainer,Dies at 84

 Pat E. Johnson, ‘Karate Kid’ Trainer and Referee, Dies at 84

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Pat E. Johnson, known for choreographing fights and training most of the actors for “The Karate Kid” films, has died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84.

 

His niece, Colleen Mary Johnson Summerville, shared the sad news on Facebook, writing, "It is with a sad heart that I'm sharing that my dear Uncle Pat has passed this Sunday morning. He was good to me since I was a little girl, and he loved my father Lloyd (his brother) dearly. Because of him, I have the most amazing woman in my life, my Aunt Sue, and I'm forever grateful."

 

For The Karate Kid (1984), Johnson told Sports Illustrated in 2018 that he trained actors Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio “separately, really hard. They would moan and bitch—they developed a relationship because they had that in common.”

He also taught Macchio the ‘Crane Kick’ that his desperate Daniel LaRusso delivers to end his All Valley tournament match with Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) in the first film’s climatic moments. He would note, however, that the move is “not something that’s really legitimate or realistic.”

Rip to a legend

 

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