Biography for
Joseph Wiseman More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

15 May 1918, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Date of Death

19 October 2009, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Joseph Wiseman was born on May 15, 1918 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He came to Broadway in the 1930s, where he was critically hailed for performances in Shakespeare's "King Lear", Clifford Odets' "Golden Boy" and Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya". Motion pictures in which Wiseman has been seen include Detective Story (1951), starring Kirk Douglas, Viva Zapata! (1952) with Marlon Brando, The Garment Jungle (1957), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), The Valachi Papers (1972) and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) which brought him back to his native Canada for a co-starring role with Richard Dreyfuss.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Pearl Lang	(1964 - 24 February 2009) (her death)
Nell Kinard	(28 August 1943 - ?) (divorced)
?	(? - ?) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Deep dramatic voice

Trivia

He and actor Roger De Koven both appeared in the same two Broadway plays about "Joan of Arc" - Maxwell Anderson's "Joan of Lorraine" and Jean Anouilh's "The Lark" - but neither actor played the same role in the two plays.

Brother of Ruth Wiseman.

Father of Martha Graham Wiseman.

One daughter, Martha Graham Wiseman, with Nell Kinard.

Survived by his daughter and his sister, Ruth Wiseman.

Daughter with Kinard, Martha Graham Wiseman.

Started his acting career in summer stock as a teenager and made his Broadway debut in 1938 playing a bit part in "Abe Lincoln in Illinois".

Personal Quotes

[on his most famous role and film, Dr. No (1962)] I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. I had no idea it would achieve the success it did. I know nothing about mysteries. I don't take to them. As far as I was concerned, I thought it might be just another Grade-B Charlie Chan mystery.

A life being enacted onstage is a thing of utter fascination for me. And acting, it may begin out of vanity but you hope that it's taken over by something else. I hope I've climbed over the vanity hurdle.