# RIP "Dr. No" - Joseph Wiseman dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612 "2009-10-21T15:35:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/1 "2009-10-21T15:35:37Z")
**Joseph Wiseman** , best known for his role as the titular Bond villian “Dr. No” has died. [He was 91.](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33412367/ns/entertainment-movies/) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/2 "2009-10-21T15:44:34Z")
“You expect me to talk, Mr. Bond?” “No, Dr. No. I expect you to die!” Oops. Wrong villain! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/3 "2009-10-21T15:52:42Z")
I understand he was the last surviving villain from the original series of Bond movies. He definately nailed the concept of appearing scary because of a combination of being brilliant _and_ crazy as a loon. It’s kinda surprising to see how normal he [looked](http://www.northernstars.ca/actorsvz/media/wiseman_250.jpg) apart from his most famous role. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/4 "2009-10-21T15:56:08Z")
He was also great as a crime boss in “Crime Story,” a 1980s (I think) police drama set in Chicago, and starring Dennis Farina as (what else?) a cop. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/5 "2009-10-21T15:57:54Z")
I’ll always remember him for his brilliant portrayal of a small-time hood in [Detective Story](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043465/)(1951). It was only his second movie but his performance was flawless. Great actor. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/6 "2009-10-21T16:28:38Z")
Besides Dr. No, Wiseman was apparently also the faceless Blofeld in that character’s first appearances. He therefore played more than one Bond villain in the series – the only actor I know of who did (Adolfo Celi appearing in _Operation Kid Brother_ doesn’t count) I had no idea he had still been alive. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/7 "2009-10-21T17:22:55Z")
I think his best role was **Carl Morphus**.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/8 "2009-10-22T03:43:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > He therefore played more than one Bond villain in the series – the only actor I know of who did Well, technically, Charles Gray did that. Not counting his turn as good-guy Henderson in _You Only Live Twice_, Gray played Blofeld and at least two henchmen who’d had surgery to look like Blofeld in _Diamonds are Forever_. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/9 "2009-10-22T04:23:52Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > He therefore played more than one Bond villain in the series – the only actor I know of who did… Walter Gotell, perhaps. He was Morzeny in _From Russia With Love_, and General Gogol in six films, starting with _The Spy Who Loved Me_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/10 "2009-10-22T12:02:55Z")
Henchmen don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/11 "2009-10-23T21:09:21Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I understand he was the last surviving villain from the original series of Bond movies… If by “original series” you mean “Sean Connery era” Bond movies, you are correct: Dr. No - Joseph Wiseman - very recently dead From Russia With Love - (no real mega-villain here) - Lotte Lenya and Robert Shaw - both dead; (also, Walter Gottel and “Kronsteen” both dead) Goldfinger - Gert Frobe - dead Thunderball - Adolfo Celi - dead You Only Live Twice - Donald Pleasance - very dead OHMSS - Telly Savalas - dead (not a Connery movie) Diamonds Are Forever - Charles Gray - dead (back to Connery) Post-Connery era: Live and Let Die - Yaphet Kotto - NOT dead The Man with the Golden Gun - Christopher Lee - NOT dead The Spy Who Loved Me - Curt Jurgens - dead Moonraker - Michael Lonsdale - NOT dead (Richard Kiel also NOT dead) For Your Eyes Only - Julian Glover - NOT dead Octopussy - Louis Jordan - NOT dead (but long since retired from acting) (Kabir Bedi and Steven Berkoff also NOT dead) Never Say Never Again (1983) - Klaus Maria Brandauer and Max Von Sydow - NOT dead (Connery’s only later appearance)(so far) A View To A Kill - Christopher Walken - NOT dead I didn’t look them up, but I don’t think any of the Dalton, Brosnan, etc., villains are dead. So basically, Wiseman was indeed the LAST of the classic Connery-era villains to croak…TRM ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/12 "2009-10-25T15:48:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Besides Dr. No, Wiseman was apparently also the faceless Blofeld in that character’s first appearances. Is that true? I never knew that. I saw those movies when they first came out, and was VERY disappointed that our first real look at Blofeld (in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) was SUCH a very different actor. The faceless Blofeld of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and THUNDERBALL was way more menacing, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/13 "2009-10-27T14:48:25Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > If by “original series” you mean “Sean Connery era” Bond movies, you are correct. And for the sake of being a completist, let’s throw in Peter Lorre from the original TV production of “Casino Royale.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-dr-no-joseph-wiseman-dies/514612/14 "2009-10-27T15:39:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Is that true? I never knew that. I saw those movies when they first came out, and was VERY disappointed that our first real look at Blofeld (in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) was SUCH a very different actor. The faceless Blofeld of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and THUNDERBALL was way more menacing, IMHO. This is what the IMDb has to say about **Thunderball** : > [@](#): > > There is debate over who provides Blofeld’s voice in this film. Some sources say Joseph Wiseman. Other sources give credit to Eric Pohlmann. In any event, Anthony Dawson, who provided Blofeld’s body in From Russia with Love (1963), makes a return appearance. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059800/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059800/trivia) The way I’d heard it there had been no question about Wiseman doing it. And the same sources said he did it for **From Russia With Love** , although IMDb credits it to Pohlmann.