Mel Novak

Milan Mrdjenovich (Serbian: Милан Мрђеновић, 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, and An Eye for an Eye. He was also known for doing all of his own stunts and fighting scenes.

Career

1970s–1980s

Born in Pittsburgh to Serbian parents, Novak made his film debut in 1974, appearing in two blaxploitation films, Truck Turner starring Isaac Hayes and Black Belt Jones starring Jim Kelly that was directed by Robert Clouse that led to a part in Clouse's The Ultimate Warrior (1975) starring Yul Brynner. Cat in the Cage (1978) starring Sybil Danning, and others followed. One of his more high-profile parts from the 70's was as the hitman Stick in Game of Death (1978), again directed by Robert Clouse. Novak also had roles in two Chuck Norris 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: Exit to Eden (1994), based on the novel by Anne Rice, and Dear God (1996).

In 2005, Novak appeared in the action/horror film Vampire Assassin, also featuring Gerald Okamura, with whom Novak acted in several films, and Rudy Ray Moore. In 2008, Novak was inducted in the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in London. In 2015, Novak had a prominent role in the action film, Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance.

Personal life

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 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, on April 9, 2025, at the age of 90.

Filmography

Bibliography

• Gods in Polyester or, a Survivor's Account of 70s Cinema Obscura. Succubus Press. 2004. ISBN 90-80870013.
• Gods In Spandex or, a Survivor's Account of 80s Cinema Obscura. 2007.

References

External links

• Mel Novak at IMDb
• A Nanarland.com interview