Rob Garrison, one of the supporting roles in the film Karate Kid (1986), died Friday at the age of 59 years. In the cult film released in 1984, he was Tommy, a member of Cobra Kai, the team that fights the hero, Daniel (Ralph Macchio). «Rob was a great person and a great representative of the legacy Karate Kid «, said one of its spokespersons in a press release sent to CNN.
The actor had to re-incarnate Tommy in the second episode of Karate Kid , released in 1986. Rob Garrison had then played some secondary roles in MacGyver , Columbo and Coach . This year, he had made his return as Tommy in one of the episodes of the series YouTube Cobra Kai , which continues the plot of the film featuring the characters as adults. According to the same spokesperson, «his performance was incredible, he was the star of the episode. I will miss him and he will be missed by all the people he has encountered».
William Zabka, his colleague in the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai , he made a special tribute on Instagram: «The world has lost a beautiful soul and an actor, incredibly talented, and I lost one of my dearest friends – the one, the only, Rob Garrison. Rob and I met at the auditions of Karate Kid . We immediately agreed and we became friends during the filming. Since then, our friendship has continued to strengthen».
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Yesterday the world lost a beautiful soul and an incredibly gifted actor, and I lost one of my dearest friends — the one and only, Rob Garrison. Rob and I met when we were auditioning for ‘ Karate Kid.” We instantly connected and became friends while filming the movie. Our friendship grew stronger over the many years since then. Rob was a true thespian — an actors actor.” Working with him was always natural and effortless. He elevated every scene and moment inside of them. Outside of acting, he was one of the most selfless and wonderful human beings I’ve ever known and I will miss him immensely. Thank you to all of his fans for the tremendous outpouring of love & respect he’s being shown. I know it means a lot to his family and friends.
