Bond Villain Joseph Wiseman Dies at 91

By Amanda Pendolino on October 21st, 2009

• Share
• Link to StumbleUpon
• 1 Comment

Joseph Wiseman, an actor famous for playing the evil scientist and title character Dr. No in the first James Bond feature film, died yesterday. He was 91. According to the Associated Press, Wiseman, whose health had been declining, died at his home in Manhattan.  

Wiseman had acted both on stage and on screen; his film credits include Detective Story (1951) and The Unforgiven (1960). He also had guest roles on television shows Law & Order, The Streets of San Francisco, The Twilight Zone and The Untouchables.

But he will always be known as “Dr. No,” the sinister villain who went up against Sean Connery as James Bond in 1962. According to IMDB, he said of the role, “I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. I had no idea it would achieve the success it did. I know nothing about mysteries. I don’t take to them. As far as I was concerned, I thought it might be just another Grade-B Charlie Chan mystery.”

Wiseman was born in Montreal on May 15, 1918. He moved to the United States with his family when he was a boy and started acting when he was a teenager. He got his start doing summer stock theater. In 1938, he was given a small part in his first Broadway play, Robert E. Sherwood’s Abe Lincoln in Illinois.