Joseph Wiseman (May 15, 1918 – October 19, 2009) was a Canadian-American theatre, film, and television actor. He starred as the villainJulius No in the first James Bond film, Dr. No, in 1962. He was also known for his role as crime boss Manny Weisbord on the television series Crime Story and his lengthy career on Broadway, where he was once called "the spookiest actor in the American theatre".[2]
Early life
Wiseman was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Jewish parents Louis and Pearl Wiseman and was raised in New York City, United States.[3] At age 16, he began performing in summer stock and became professional, which displeased his parents.
Wiseman made his Broadway debut in 1938, playing a small part in Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Among the many productions he appeared in live theatre were the title role in In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer on Broadway in 1968, and the role of Father Massieu in the original Broadway production of Joan of Lorraine, the Maxwell Anderson play which eventually became the film Joan of Arc.
Wiseman appeared in several films in the 1950s. He made his first major film appearance in 1951's Detective Story, where he recreated his performance from Broadway as an unstable small-time hood. Soon after, he played Marlon Brando's archenemy in Viva Zapata! (1952). Wiseman's role as the titular Dr. No in the first James Bond film by Eon Productions was a decision of producer Harry Saltzman, who cast Wiseman in the role in December 1961. It was Wiseman's performance in Detective Story that gained him the part.[5] (Later in his life, he viewed the film with disdain, and preferred to be remembered for his theater career.[6])
Wiseman married Nell Kinard on August 25, 1943, in New York, but they eventually divorced May 15, 1964, in Durham, NC.[7] He was married to dancer, teacher, and choreographer Pearl Lang from 1964 until her death in February 2009.[8] He had a daughter with Kinard, Martha Graham Wiseman.[8]
Despite his many on-screen performances as the "heavy," Joseph Wiseman was a Jewish scholar who travelled extensively, giving readings from Yiddish and Jewish literature. Wiseman died on October 19, 2009, at his home in Manhattan aged 91, having been in declining health for some time.[8]
