Mel Novak

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, 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 on June 16, 1934 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.

In 2020, Novak had a role in the Leo Fong 2010 film, Hard Way Heroes.

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 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