Joseph Wiseman

Joseph Wiseman (15 May 1918 – 19 October 2009) was a Canadian American theater and film actor. He played Emperor Draco in the 1979 film Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He also played Carl Morphus in the series episode "Vegas in Space".

Career
Wiseman made his Broadway debut in 1938, playing a small part in Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois. Among the many productions in which he appeared during a long career in live theater 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 most famous role as the titular Dr. No in the first James Bond film by Eon Productions came from producer Harry Saltzman, who cast Wiseman in the role in December 1961. It was Wiseman's performance in Detective Story that won him the part. Later in his life, he viewed the film with disdain and preferred to be remembered for his theater career.

In 1967, he was cast as Billy Minsky's father in The Night They Raided Minsky's. He appeared opposite Sir Laurence Olivier in The Betsy (1978). Wiseman had roles in a wide variety of other films including The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Seize the Day, and Bye Bye Braverman. He had guest-starring and cameo roles in TV series including The Westerner, The Streets of San Francisco, The Untouchables, Crime Story, The Twilight Zone ("One More Pallbearer"), Magnum, P.I., and Night Gallery. His last film was made in 1988, though he appeared in TV shows such as MacGyver, L.A. Law, and Law & Order after that time. Wiseman's last appearance on television was the supporting role of Seymour Bergreen in a 1996 episode of Law & Order titled "Family Business". His last Broadway appearance was in Judgment at Nuremberg in 2001.