10:59AM, Oct 21, 2009
Joseph Wiseman - the actor who played the first Bond villain Dr No - has died aged 91.
His chilling portrayal of the half-Chinese, half German megalomaniac with steel pincers for hands became the template for all 007's subsequent adversaries.
Born in Montreal in 1918, he moved to America as a boy and made his Broadway debut aged 20 and starred in his first film, the drama With These Hands, in 1950.
The following year he had a major role in the Marlon Brando drama Viva Zapata! and began to find regular work both in films and on television.
Wiseman was not the first choice for the role of Dr No (the film-makers considered Noel Coward and even a monkey for the part) but he accepted it despite reservations that the character was just another "corny" variation on Fu Manchu.
He is not seen in the 1962 movie until almost one and half hours into the film... but his presence as the unemotional and deranged scientist set the bar for the Bond villain.
After the film, Wiseman returned to TV and theatre, making a guest appearance on Wagon Train and taking roles in The Night They Raided Minsky's and The Betsy.
