Mel Novak, Bad Guys in ‘Game of Death’ and ‘Black Belt Jones,’ Dies at 90

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Legendary actor Mel Novak, famous for his memorable roles as the cunning sniper Stick in Bruce Lee’s “Game of Death,” the menacing gangster Blue Eyes in Jim Kelly’s “Black Belt Jones,” and the informant Tony Montoya in Chuck Norris’ “Eye for an Eye,” has passed away at the age of 90.

Novak passed away on a Wednesday at a hospice center in Granada Hills due to natural reasons, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, according to his daughter Nikol Conant.

For over seven decades, the captivating Novak undertook many stunts himself, such as in the movie “The Ultimate Warrior” (1975) which featured Yul Brynner and Max von Sydow. This was one of the four films he worked on with director Robert Clouse, who also helmed “Enter the Dragon”.

(I’ve tried to maintain the original meaning while making it more conversational and easier to read.)

Back in that post-apocalyptic game adventure, they slathered me with peanut butter and sunflower seeds before unleashing forty live rats upon me. In a 2018 interview, I remembered saying to their trainer, “If even one of these critters takes a chomp outta me, I’ll give you a taste of my retaliation – a human bite is way worse than theirs!

For a minute and a half, I needed to hold my breath, since the script required me to appear deceased. At that moment, having a stand-in would have been quite helpful. Following the filming of that sequence, Yul complimented me, saying ‘Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!’

He said his characters died onscreen more than 25 times.

In one of his most iconic characters, Novak played the marksman known as Stick, who always had a matchstick in his mouth, in the martial arts masterpiece “Game of Death,” which began filming in 1972 but wasn’t released until 1978, five years after Lee passed away.

Clouse previously directed Novak in the 1974 movie “Black Belt Jones.” Later, he took Novak to Hong Kong for a seven-week shoot of scenes for one of Clouse’s films. As they began working on the project, Novak’s role significantly increased, as he himself pointed out.

Milan Mrdjenovich, born in Pittsburgh on June 16, 1934 to Serbian parents, turned down approximately 60 college football scholarship offers to instead sign a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, an injury to his shoulder (specifically, his rotator cuff) dashed his dreams of making a career out of baseball playing.

In California, he combined his career as a bodily injury claims adjuster for an insurance company with modeling and acting lessons. During this time, he appeared in the Jerry Lewis comedy “Which Way to the Front?” (1970), playing a Nazi character, and in a 1973 episode of CBS’s “Mannix,” starring Mike Connors, where he portrayed a hitman.

In the 1970s, Novak played roles such as a doctor in Jonathan Kaplan’s “Truck Turner” (1974) alongside Isaac Hayes and Yaphet Kotto; a lethal chauffeur in “Cat in the Cage” (1978) with Sybil Danning; and an announcer in his debut film with Norris, “A Force of One” (1979).

Or, simply:

Novak appeared as a doctor in “Truck Turner” (1974), a murderous chauffeur in “Cat in the Cage” (1978), and an announcer in “A Force of One” (1979) with Norris during the 1970s.

Afterward, he took on the role of an assassin in another martial arts film titled “Force: Five” (1981) – a production by Clouse, and co-starring Richard Norton.

Later on, the stylishly dapper Novak acted as a bodyguard for boxer “Gentleman Jim” Corbett in the 1980 film “Tom Horn”, which starred Steve McQueen. He also collaborated with director Garry Marshall, a former softball teammate of his, on the films “Exit to Eden” (1994) and “Dear God” (1996).

His large-screen filmography boasts titles such as “Lovely but Deadly” from 1981, “Family Reunion” in 1989, “Vampire Assassin” in 2005, and “Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance” in 2015. In these films, his character is often depicted with a matchstick in his mouth, though in this context, they are colored to coordinate with his suits.

His memoirs, titled Cross Heirs, will be published in December, his daughter said.

Among the family members who carry on his legacy are his daughter Lea, along with his grandkids, Ali and Ryan. Regrettably, his grandson Eli passed away due to cancer in the year 2024.

Apart from his role as an actor, Novak was also a minister who served communities for over thirty years, including skid row, missions, and the Los Angeles County Jail. Interestingly, many individuals he counseled recognized him from the movie “Game of Death.

He shared during a 2016 interview for the book “Redeeming the Screens” that his acting career has significantly contributed to his prison ministry. Often cast as a villain in movies, this role allows him to relate better with those incarcerated.

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2025-04-11 22:24