Milan Mrdjenovich (, ''Milan Mrđenović''; June 16, 1934 – April 9, 2025), known as Mel Novak, was an American actor who was best known for villainous roles in '' Black Belt Jones'', ''
Game of Death
''Game of Death'' () is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, of which portions were filmed between September and October 1972, and was planned and scheduled to be released by 1973, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee. Th ...
'', and '' An Eye for an Eye''. He was also known for doing all of his own
stunts
A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...
and fighting scenes.
Career
1970s–1980s
Born in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
on June 16, 1934 to
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular
**Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans
** Serbian language
** Serbian culture
**Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...
parents, Novak made his film debut in 1974, appearing in two
blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
films, ''
Truck Turner
''Truck Turner'', also known as ''Black Bullet'', is a 1974 American blaxploitation film, starring Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto, and directed by Jonathan Kaplan. The screenplay was written by Michael Allin, Leigh Chapman (under a pseudonym, J ...
'' starring
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...
Jim Kelly
James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers o ...
that was directed by
Robert Clouse
Robert Clouse (March 6, 1928 – February 4, 1997) was an American film director and producer, known primarily for his work in the action/adventure and martial arts genres. He died on February 4, 1997, in Oregon of kidney failure.
Clouse dir ...
that led to a part in Clouse's ''
The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...
'' (1975) starring
Yul Brynner
Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...
. ''Cat in the Cage'' (1978) starring
Sybil Danning
Sybil Danning (born Sybille Johanna Danninger; May 24, 1952) is an Austrian–American former actress, model, and film producer. She is best known for her frequent appearances in B movies during the 1970s and 1980s.
Biography Early life
Dannin ...
, and others followed. One of his more high-profile parts from the 70's was as the hitman Stick in ''
Game of Death
''Game of Death'' () is an incomplete Hong Kong martial arts film, of which portions were filmed between September and October 1972, and was planned and scheduled to be released by 1973, directed, written, produced by and starring Bruce Lee. Th ...
'' (1978), again directed by Robert Clouse. Novak also had roles in two
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...
films, '' A Force of One'' (1979) and '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1981). After the turn of the 1980's, Novak acted mostly in independent features, such as '' Lovely But Deadly'' (1981) for director/producer David Sheldon, starring B-movie heroine Lucinda Dooling.
1990s–2000s
In the 1990s, Novak appeared in two films for director
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...
: ''
Exit to Eden
''Exit to Eden'' is a 1985 novel by Anne Rice, initially published under the pen name Anne Rampling, but subsequently under Rice's own name. The novel explores the subject of BDSM in romance novel form. The novel also brought attention to Rice' ...
'' (1994), based on the novel by
Anne Rice
Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...
, and '' Dear God'' (1996).
In 2005, Novak appeared in the action/horror film '' Vampire Assassin'', also featuring
Gerald Okamura
Gerald Okamura (born 1940) is an American actor, martial artist, and stuntman, known for appearing in numerous action films. He has acted in both mainstream blockbusters like ''Big Trouble in Little China'' and B-movies such as ''Samurai Cop''.
...
, with whom Novak acted in several films, and
Rudy Ray Moore
Rudolph Frank Moore (March 17, 1927October 19, 2008), known as Rudy Ray Moore, was an American comedian, singer, actor, and film producer.Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance''.
Personal life and death
Novak was also an ordained minister, known for doing celebrity funerals and memorials for the likes of Chuck Connors' son, Jeffrey Alan Connors, and Tim Burton's father, Bill Burton. He worked in
skid row
A skid row, also called skid road, is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to people who are poor or homeless, considered disre ...
and prison ministry for over 39 years. He also had two daughters, Nikol and Lea, and three grandchildren from daughter Lea.
Novak died at a hospice in
Granada Hills, California
Granada Hills is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. The community has a sports program and a range of city recreation centers. The neighborhood has fourteen public and ten private schools.
History
The Granada Hills ...