We have some sad news to report as Max Julien has passed away. The veteran actor, who led the cast of the classic blaxploitation film The Mack, reportedly died on New Year’s Day at Sherman Oaks Hospital. A cause of death has not yet been determined. Julien was 88 years old.
“During Julien’s decades-long career, he was known for being bold, honest and straightforward,” the actor’s PR team told TMZ. “He would live and speak his own truth both professionally and privately. He was thought of as a rare ‘man among men.’”
David F. Walker, a comic book writer, filmmaker, and close friend of Julien’s, also paid tribute on Instagram. Posting an image of the late actor, Walker said, “I met Max back in 1996. He was a great human being, and we had so many amazing conversations. He was brilliant and hilarious and charismatic…R.I.P.”
As an actor, Julien is best known for his starring role in The Mack. Released in 1973, the film was written by Robert J. Poole and directed by Michael Campus. It follows the rise and fall of John “Goldie” Mickens (Julien) as he strives to become the city’s biggest pimp after his release from prison. The late Richard Pryor co-starred with Julien with the film also starring Juanita Moore and Dick Anthony Williams.
“Even including its flaws, The Mack is the best and most memorable crime picture of the whole blaxploitation genre,” Quentin Tarantino once said about the film. A huge fan of The Mack, Tarantino also included a reference to the classic film in True Romance with Christian Slater’s character pointing out, “I know that film. It’s The Mack starring Max Julien.”
“1971, Hollywood was dying, looking for subsidization from the government, and suddenly somebody came along, God bless him, called Melvin Van Peebles. Okay? He did a film, and whatever you might think of it, called Sweet Sweetback’s Baad*sssss Song and it turned this entire industry around,” Julien told S. Pearl Sharp in a 1981 interview of the legacy of the blaxploitation movement.
He added: “And suddenly they said: ‘Wow! There are Black people out there who go and see movies!’ Like we hadn’t been going all the time, right? And suddenly Black films were being made and made and made and made and nobody’s giving credit to the fact that those films literally saved Hollywood.”
Max Julien has also had roles in films like The Black Klansman, Psych-Out (with Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern), The Savage Seven, Up Tight!, Thomasine & Bushrod, Getting Straight, and Def Jam’s How to Be a Player. His small screen credits include The Mod Squad, The Bold Ones: The Protectors, CBS Playhouse, and The Name of the Game. Julien’s final acting credit was in 2005 in which he reprised his role from The Mack for a special appearance in the UPN comedy series One on One.
Julien is survived by his wife, Arabella. Our condolences go out to her at this painful time. Rest in peace, Max Julien.
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