It was the summer of 1984, such a simpler time where the biggest news was Michael Jackson's hair catching fire (and his 8 Grammys), finding out what AIDS was, Miss America was in Penthouse, NASA launches Discovery and Challenger, and Crack takes over Los Angeles.
Ok, so maybe not great news.
However, 84' brought us some of the most epic Technology releases, TV shows and Movies of all time including Apple Macintosh Release, AMC was created, Beverly Hills Cop, Children of the Corn, Footloose, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Once Upon a Time in America, Police Academy, Purple Rain, Red Dawn, Sixteen Candles, The Terminator, This is Spinal Tap, and you guessed it, The Karate Kid.
Every kids cassette player had Prince, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Van Halen, Lionel Richie, Yes, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, Madonna, Night Ranger, Billy Idol, Chicago, Elton John, Pat Benatar, Quiet Riot, Bananarama, or Billy Joel playing as they walked through the halls.
The Karate Kid inspired so many kids suffering from bullies to stand up for themselves, or at least try.
Without further ado, here is number one in our list.
Ralph Macchio was born on November 4, 1961 making him 22 years old at the filming of The Karate Kid.
Funny enough, some confusion probably arose after leaving the 1983 film The Outsiders, where Ralph played a character named Johnny. Now the name of his Antagonist in The Karate Kid.
Ralph wasn't quite the fit of the original character, but the directors liked him so much they rewrote some of the character and the rest is history. This fun fact includes changing the characters name from Daniel Webber to a more appropriate Daniel LaRusso.
Cobra Kai, a Netflix series, continues it's 4th Season Release December 2021, and has confirmed the existence of a 5th Season to come. This makes Daniel, played by Ralph Macchio, 60 years old at the time of Filming!
Wow, most 60 year olds are retired now. The Student has become the teacher, and continues on the legacy of Mr. Miyagi.
Elizabeth Shue, beloved star and teen heartthrob, stole millions of kids adoration as the love interest to Daniel in the Karate Kid. Elizabeth Shue was born on October 6, 1963 making her 20 years old at the time of filming!
The cast looked so young and fresh during filming and gave us the imagined assurance that we were really witnessing some high school beef going down. Such a relatable role conveyed by talented actors and actress.
Elizabeth Shue joined in on continuing the fun in Cobra Kai, the Netflix series, appearing in Season 3 and onward, reconnecting with William Zabka's character: Johnny.
In the official The Karate Kid franchise, by Robert Mark Kamen and Columbia Pictures, there are actually 5 Movies and 2 Television Series that are considered canon releases.
The Next Karate Kid, garnished some criticism from die hard fans as we see a new director and screenwriter are introduced, and the only original character to return is Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). This being a Canon release makes me wonder, are we going to see Protagonist Julie Pierce (Hillary Swank) appear in the ongoing Cobra Kai series?
William Zabka was Born on October 20, 1965 making his age only 19 years old at the time of filming The Karate Kid and 21 for The Karate Kid Part II. Now Zabka is co producer of Netflix hit series Cobra Kai, and is performing his role of Johnny Lawrence at 65 years old.
The Karate Kid Movie was officially released in box offices June 22, 1984 and grossed to 130.4 Million Dollars world wide. However, production didn't stop there.
The Karate Kid began filming on October 31, 1983. Remember that Halloween scene where Daniel is a Shower Curtain? Yeah, me too and it's no coincidence. They started filming a Halloween scene on actual Halloween to capture some of the decorations and trick or treating etc to give it a real feel.
Well, this is Awkward, the original Karate Kid is a comic by DC for a character named Val Armorr which is totally unrelated to this Movie. The Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, is played by beloved star Ralph Macchio.
Noriyuki Morita known as Pat Morita, played Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid and was born on June 28, 1932 making him 52 at the time of the box office release.
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About the Author:
Colton Woodard is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Kuniba Kai Karate Do and holds the title of Kyoshi as well. He loves to teach Karate, Kobudo, and Iaido and considers himself a lifetime student in pursuit of self improvement in both Martial Arts and in Character. Colton loves to visit Japan and speaks conversational Japanese and can write quite a few Kanji. He is a Karate competitor and coach and loves to exercise and make new memories with people all over the world.
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