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Mel Novak
Mel Novak
	Novak in 2020
Born	Milan Mrdjenovich; June 16, 1942 (age 82); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other names	Mel Novak
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971 – present

Mel Novak (born June 16, 1942) is an American actor who is best known for villainous roles in Black Belt Jones, Game of Death, and An Eye for an Eye. He is also known for doing all of his own stunts and fighting scenes.^[2]^[3]

Career

1970s to 1980s

Born in Pittsburgh to Serbian parents as Milan Mrdjenovich^[4]^[5] (Serbian: Милан Мрђеновић, Milan Mrđenović),^[6] 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). Since the turn of the 80's, Novak has been acting mostly in independent features, such as Lovely But Deadly (1981) for director/producer David Sheldon, starring B-movie heroine Lucinda Dooling.

1990s to 2000s

In the '90s, he 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, he appeared in the action/horror film Vampire Assassin, also featuring Gerald Okamura, with whom Novak has 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 is 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 has worked in skid row and prison ministry for over 39 years. He also has two daughters, Nikol and Lea, and three grandchildren from daughter Lea.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1974	Black Belt Jones	Blue Eyes
1974	Truck Turner	Doctor	Alternative title: Black Bullet
1975	The Ultimate Warrior	Lippert	Alternative titles: The Barony The Last Warrior
1978	Game of Death	Stick
	Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident	Mendosa	Alternative title: Teheran Incident
	Cat in the Cage	Ralph Desmond
1979	A Force of One	The Announcer
1980	Tom Horn	Corbett's bodyguard
1981	Lovely But Deadly	Warren Lang
	Force: Five	The Assassin
	An Eye for an Eye	Montoya
1985	Force of Darkness	Conrad
1985	Sword of Heaven	Dirk
1989	Family Reunion	Tom Andrews
1991	Capital Punishment	Mason Dover	Alternative title: Kickbox Terminator
1993	Expert Weapon	Miller	Alternative title: American Dragon
1994	Pocket Ninjas	Mr. Kaufman	Working title: Skate Dragons Alternative title: Super Sonic Pocket Ninjas on Wheels Foreign release title: Triple Dragon
	Direct Hit	Kovar
	Exit to Eden	Walker's henchman
1996	Dear God	Sidewalk Minister
1997	Future War	Otis^[7]
1997	Moonbase	Guard
1999	The F-Zone	Priest
2002	Power Elite	President Jonathan Caine
2003	GiAnts	Jonathan Caine^[8]	Direct-to-DVD release
2005	SWAT: Warhead One	Dick Danvers	Direct-to-DVD release
2005	Vampire Assassin	Gustoff Slovak	Alternate title: Vampire Assassins
2006	Big Guns	Larry Armstrong	Direct-to-DVD release
2008	Drifter TKD	Thomas Tyler
2015	Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance	Cutter
2016	Enter the Samurai	Himself	Documentary on the creation of Samurai Cop 2:Deadly Vengeance
2017	Syndicate Smasher	Milan
2017	Steve McQueen: American Icon	Himself	Documentary
2017	Check Point (2017 film)	The Reverend
2017	Holy Terror	Father Murphy
2017	Toxic Tutu	Himself, Associate Producer
2017	Nemesis 5: The New Model	Red Army Hammerhead Leader
2018	Tales of Frankenstein	Dr. Mortality
2018	An Hour to Kill	Mr. Kinski
2019	Gangsters Incorporated	Stick
2019	Robowoman	Dr. Michaels
2019	Eternal Code	Mr. Pomeroy
2020	The Beast Beneath	Mayor George Reid
2020	Tales from the Campfire 3	Dr. Challis
2020	Ebola Rex	General Davis
2020	Ebola Rex Versus Murder Hornets	General Davis
Television
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1971	The F.B.I.	Policeman	One episode
1973	Mannix	Elmo Bagley	One episode
1976	The Blue Knight	Steve	One episode
1976	Ark II	First guard	One episode
2006	Pastor Greg	Man with dog	One episode