Mel Novak | |
|---|---|
 Novak in 2020 | |
| Born | Milan Mrdjenovich June 16, 1942 [1] 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]
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.
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 .
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 ]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | Black Belt Jones | Blue Eyes | |
| 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 | |
| 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] | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Ark II | First guard | One episode | |
| 2006 | Pastor Greg | Man with dog | One episode |
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Shortly after, in Hollywood, Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris went on to appear in a minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became a hit, and he soon became a popular action film star.
Heather Elizabeth Langenkamp is an American actress, director, writer, producer, and disc jockey. Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson in Wes Craven's slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), which earned her recognition as a scream queen and in popular culture. She reprised the role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and played a fictionalized version of herself in the meta film Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). In 1995, she was inducted into the Fangoria Chainsaw Hall of Fame.
Johnny Cage is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action film star with an extensive martial arts background. The series depicts Cage as one of the primary heroes defending Earthrealm from various threats, as well as the comic foil. In the first rebooted timeline, Cage is also the love interest of Special Forces officer Sonya Blade and the father of their daughter Cassie. He is inspired by martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme, particularly Van Damme's character, Frank Dux, in the 1988 film Bloodsport. A staple of the franchise, Cage has appeared in various media outside of the games.
Deadly Games is an American action science fiction television series that aired on UPN from September 5, 1995, to January 16, 1996. The basic plot of the show is about video game characters that come to life, re-enacting their deadly plans for wanton destruction and world domination in the real world. The series was produced by Viacom Productions.
This is a list of playable and boss characters from the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between various realms. Most characters fight on behalf of their realm, with the primary heroes defending Earthrealm against conquering villains from Outworld and the Netherrealm. Early installments feature the characters participating in the eponymous Mortal Kombat tournament to decide their realm's fate. In later installments, Earthrealm is often invaded by force.
Michael Christopher White is an American filmmaker and actor. He has won numerous awards, including the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for the 2000 film Chuck & Buck, which he wrote and starred in. He has written the screenplays for films such as School of Rock (2003) and has directed several films that he has written, such as Brad's Status (2017). He was a co-creator, executive producer, writer, director and actor on the HBO series Enlightened. White is also known for his appearances on reality television, competing on two seasons of The Amazing Race and later becoming a contestant and runner-up on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. He created, writes and directs the ongoing HBO satirical comedy anthology series The White Lotus, for which he has won three Primetime Emmy Awards.
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. The project was paused to film and produce Enter the Dragon. For Game of Death, over 120 minutes of footage was shot. The remaining footage has since been released with Lee's original Cantonese and English dialogue, with John Little dubbing Lee's Hai Tien character as part of the documentary titled Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey. Much of the footage that was shot is from what was to be the climax of the film.
Richard Harrison is an American actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in European B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, and exploitation films of the early 1970s.
Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notably Ace the Bat-Hound in Krypto the Superdog and Voltar from League of Super Evil. He also voiced various roles in shows such as Dragon Ball Z, Transformers: Armada, Beast Wars: Transformers, Beast Machines: Transformers, ReBoot, X-Men: Evolution, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Inuyasha and Fullmetal Alchemist, in addition to live action work.
Ian McCulloch is a Scottish actor of stage, film, and television.
Black Belt Jones is a 1974 American blaxploitation martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and starring Jim Kelly and Gloria Hendry. The film is a spiritual successor to Clouse's prior film Enter the Dragon, in which Kelly had a supporting role. Here, Kelly features in his first starring role as the eponymous character, a local hero who fights the Mafia and a local drug dealer threatening his friend's dojo.
Teddy Chiu, professionally known as Teddy Page, is a Filipino film director and occasional writer. He began his career as a young man in the early 1980s, directing low-budget action movies for producer K.Y. Lim's Silver Star Film Company.
Gods In Polyester: A Survivors' Account Of 70's Cinema Obscura is a cult film book covering mainly American obscure, low-budget, and independent film horror, sci-fi, exploitation film, Blaxploitation, Spaghetti Western, and action films that were created between 1970 and 1981.
James Jene Fae Lew is an American martial artist, stuntman, and actor. He has made 80 on-screen film and television appearances and 46 more as a stunt coordinator or stunt double. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for his work on the series Luke Cage.
Deadly Eyes is a 1982 Canadian horror film directed by Robert Clouse, very loosely based on the 1974 horror novel The Rats by James Herbert. The story revolves around giant black rats who begin eating the residents of Toronto after ingesting contaminated grain.
Norman John Warren was an English film director best known for such 1970s horror films as Satan's Slave (1976), Prey (1977) and Terror (1978). Warren is also known for sex comedies such as Outer Touch.
The Ultimate Warrior is a 1975 American science fiction action-adventure film directed by Robert Clouse. One of a series of post-apocalyptic films from the 1960s and 1970s, it is set in post-civilization New York City in 2012 and depicts the struggles of a small enclave of inhabitants attempting to survive in a compound beset with packs of starving pillagers.
Robert Clouse 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.
![<i>Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon</i> 1993 [[Cinema of the United States|United States]] film](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/80/BruceLeeCurseoftheDragon.jpg)
Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon is a 1993 American documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies. The film is directed by Tom Kuhn and Fred Weintraub and written by Davis Miller, author of the books The Tao of Muhammad Ali, The Tao of Bruce Lee and "Approaching Ali."
Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance is a 2015 American comedy action film directed and co-written by Gregory Hatanaka, a sequel to the 1991 cult film Samurai Cop. The film stars Mathew Karedas, Mark Frazer, Melissa Moore, Cranston Komuro, Jimmy Williams, and Gerald Okamura reprising their original roles, with Tommy Wiseau, Bai Ling, Laurene Landon, Mel Novak, Mindy Robinson, Lexi Bell, Joselito Rescober, and Joe Estevez appearing as new characters while Kayden Kross also appears, replacing Janis Farley in her role of Jennifer.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
