By Stone Martindale Apr 14, 2007, 16:27 GMT
Once a contract player for MGM, thespian Barry Nelson, who had a prolific theater career, and the first to portray James Bond on screen, has died. He was 89.
The Washington Post reports that Nelson died while traveling in Bucks County, Pa., his wife, Nansi Nelson, on April 7th. The cause of death was not immediately known, she said to AP reporters.
Nelson first played 007 in a one-hour television adaptation of "Casino Royale" in 1954, before Sean Connery sipped his martini onscreen as the suave British agent in 1962's "Dr. No."
A graduate of University of California, Berkeley, Nelson was spotted and subsequently signed to MGM as a contract player.
Some of his films included "Shadow of the Thin Man," and "Dr. Kildare's Victory." He also landed the leading role in "A Yank on the Burma Road," reports the Washington Post.
Like most of his peers, he enlisted when World War II was underway and performed the wartime play "Winged Victory," which was later made into a movie starring Red Buttons, George Reeves and Nelson.
Nelson later made his mark on Broadway in "Seascape" "Mary, Mary" and "Cactus Flower." He garnered a Tony nomination in 1978 for his role in "The Act," reports the Post.
IMDB lists some of his other credits as films "Airport" and "The Shining," and he also appeared on such TV shows as "Murder, She Wrote," "Dallas" and "Magnum P.I."
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