User:Light&highbeautyforever/sandbox2

Maxwell Julien Banks (January 1933 – January 1, 2022), better known by his stage name Max Julien, was an American actor, and screenwriter best known for his role as Goldie in the 1973 blaxploitation film, The Mack. Julien also appeared in Def Jam's How to Be a Player and he guest starred on TV shows such as The Mod Squad, The Bold Ones: The Protectors, and One on One.

He began his career on the stage on New York City's Off-Broadway circuit including roles in Joseph Papp's Shakespeare-In-The-Park. Moving westward to Hollywood, he landed co-starring roles with Jack Nicholson in Psych-Out and Candice Bergen in Columbia's box-office hit film Getting Straight. While spending time in Rome, Italy, he wrote and directed a documentary called Trestevre, then wrote the screenplay for, and subsequently co-produced, Warner Brothers's blaxploitation classic Cleopatra Jones, which starred actress Tamara Dobson in the title role as a narcotics agent who was as skilled in martial arts as she was with firearms. Julien refused to participate in the sequel, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, which led to his being credited instead with the film's story and script both being "based on characters created by Max Julien".

Early life
Julien was born in Washington, DC in January 1933.

"Maxwell Julien Banks was born on July 12, 1933, in Washington. His father, Seldon Bushrod Banks, was an airline mechanic. His mother, Cora (Page) Banks, was a restaurant owner. She was murdered in her home in 1972,"

"He won a basketball scholarship to Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., where he spent a year before transferring to Howard University in Washington. He joined the Air Force in 1955 and served as an air traffic controller before beginning his acting career. He took his middle name as his stage surname because he felt it sounded more theatrical than Banks."

Kappa Alpha Psi at Howard University on the December 4, 1954.

Career
"Classically trained"

Started acting in Shakespeare in the Park and off-broadway productions

Did Shakespeare in the Park with Joseph Papp

His first on-screen roles included “Psych-Out” and “Getting Straight.”

Didn't like the term "blaxploitation"

The Mack
Drew on grief from mother's murder

Film was influential in hip-hop music

Critics
For his performance in 1968's Up Tight!, New York Times movie critic Judith Crist stated that Julien was, "a standout in a standout cast." Raoul Gripenwaldt from The Santa Monica Evening Outlook wrote, "Max Julien's portrayal of Johnny Wells in Paramount's Uptight could very well result in an Academy Award." The Hollywood Reporter chimed in, "Max Julien creates a memorable piece of reality." As a reward, Julien was invited to Europe to discuss film possibilities.

He received an NAACP Image Award nomination for best writer of the year for his work on Thomasine & Bushrod

In popular culture

 * Curren$y's 2012 mixtape "Priest Andretti" features a song named after the actor, produced by Beat Butcha. The New Orleans rapper also mentions Max Julien in his song, "What's What," off of his 2011 album Weekend at Burnie's.
 * Many rappers have sampled his voice from The Mack, including Craig Mack, Lloyd Banks, Gangrene, Big K.R.I.T. and Do or Die. Multiple R&B, hip-hop and rock artists (i.e., Too Short, Rappin' 4-Tay, P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Kid Rock) admittedly fashioned their images after Julien's character from the film.
 * Julien appeared as "Goldie" in an episode of UPN's One on One.

Lines from the film have been sampled in hip hop songs by several rappers including Snoop Dogg, Raekwon, Mobb Deep, LL Cool J and Public Enemy.

reference point for rappers from Dr. Dre to A$AP Rocky

"Quentin Tarantino paid homage to it in his script for the 1993 film “True Romance.” In 2013, when the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art held a screening in honor of the film’s 40th anniversary, Mr. Tarantino lent his vintage 35-millimeter print."

Sampled by Too Short UGK, Dr. Dre

Personal life
Julien was in a live-in relationship with his Thomasine & Bushrod costar Vonetta McGee from 1974 to 1977. He Mmarried Arabella Chavers Julien in 1991, and the couple resided in Los Angeles.

In addition to acting and screenwriting, Julien was a poet, sculptor, and fashion designer.

Death
Julien died of cardiopulminary arrest in Los Angeles on January 1, 2022. He was 88.

Filmography

 * The Black Klansman (1966) - Raymond
 * Psych-Out (1968) - Elwood
 * The Savage Seven (1968) - Grey Wolf
 * Up Tight! (1968) - Johnny Wells
 * The Mod Squad (TV) - Jack Dawson (1968) 1 episode
 * The Bold Ones: The Protectors (TV) - Coley Walker (1969) pilot episode "Deadlock"
 * CBS Playhouse (TV) - Joe Barnes (1969) 1 episode
 * Getting Straight (1970) - Ellis
 * The Name of the Game (TV) - Mjoma (1970) 1 episode
 * The Mack (1973) - Goldie
 * Cleopatra Jones (1973) Screenwriter
 * Thomasine & Bushrod (1974) - Screenwriter, "Bushrod"
 * Def Jam's How to Be a Player (1997) - Uncle Fred
 * Restore (2001) - Coach Barnes
 * One on One (TV) - Goldie (2005) 1 episode