Screen and stage actor Joseph Wiseman died 19 October 2009; he had been in declining healthy. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 15 May 1918, his family moved to the US when he was a child. He may be best remembered for playing the title villain in the first James Bond feature Dr. No (1962).
Wiseman’s first Broadway role came in 1938, in Abe Lincoln in Illinois. His first film role was in 1950’s With These Hands. He most recently appeared on Broadway in 2001, in Judgment at Nuremberg (his last television role was a guest appearance on Law & Order in 1996). Wiseman’s genre roles include: The Greatest American Hero (1981), the series-opening film of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), Wide World Mystery (1975), Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (1970), The Twilight Zone (1962), two episodes of Tales of Tomorrow (1953), two episodes of Lights Out (1951 and 1952).
Wiseman’s first marriage ended in divorce. His second wife, choreographer Pearl Lang, died in February 2009. He is survived by his daughter, Martha, from his first marriage, and his sister, Ruth Wiseman.