Max Julien, when he appeared in the groundbreaking 1973 film The Mack.
Courtesy of SCM Entertainment and Media
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Courtesy of SCM Entertainment and Media
Max Julien, when he appeared in the groundbreaking 1973 film The Mack.
Courtesy of SCM Entertainment and Media
Actor Max Julien, star of the classic 1973 film Blaxploitation The Mack, has died. According to his wife, Arabella Chavers Julien, he passed away early Saturday morning. He is 88 years old. No further details are provided.
A highly trained actor born in Washington, DC, Julien began her career in off-Broadway theater before moving into film. His other film credits include 1968 Psych-Out and the 1970s Go straight. Julien also co-wrote and co-produced another Blaxploitation milestone, 1973 Cleopatra Jones. Later in her career, Julien made guest appearances on television series including Squad Mod and One on one, and pursue other creative outlets such as fashion design and sculpture.
“During Julien’s decades-long career, he has been known to be bold, honest and forthright,” read a statement from his agent. “He will live and speak his own truth both professionally and privately.”
Before The Mack, Julien was noted for her outstanding role in 1968 Discreet, where he took on the role of Johnny Wells, a black revolutionary leader. While some critic referred to as his character warrior, Julien was conflicted about the term. “I don’t mind being called a militia, because I’m a fighter,” Julien later said in one 1981 BET interview. But he was candid about how that label overshadowed the rest of his character: “The man loves his mother too, he loves his friends, he has a human level. But they never got involved with that.”
Julien brought those human qualities to her lead role in The Mack. He plays Goldie, a pimp living in Oakland with ambitions to the top. The political drama directed by Michael Campus examines the state of Black life in America. In one Documentary in 2002 about the movie, titled Mackin ‘not easyJulien notes that there’s an air of sadness in his character, “because that’s where I am as a human being, and I can’t hide that. That’s me.”
The film was first shown in most Black markets, where it was a resounding success. In a 2013 interview with LA time, Campus says that when the movie was shown in Oakland, people stood up and started screaming in front of the screen by the first scene. “They never sit down. No one shows that world – no one paints a portrait of the black underworld,” he said.
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The Mack, and Willie Hutch’s soundtrack, which became a major influence on hip hop, serving as a reference point for rappers from Dr. Dre arrive A $ AP Rocky. Director Quentin Tarantino pays tribute to Julien and The Mack with a brief cameo from his 1993 film, Real romance.
Julien said in the 2002 documentary about her character Goldie: “He is still a hero to this day. But not because of his pimp: “It’s because of the other thing he has, the indomitable spirit he has that, ‘you can’t stop me,’ and ‘you can’t knock me down,’ me without I come back to you.'”
