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After studying at RADA, London-born Douglas Wilmer made his 1945 stage debut in repertory at Rugby. One year later, Wilmer made his first London theatrical appearance. Though most closely associated with classical roles, he scored one of his biggest stage successes in a contemporary work, One Way Pendulum (1959). Wilmer's film work includes the role of Nayland Smith in two of Christopher Lee's Fu Manchu films. He also repeated his British-TV characterization of Sherlock Holmes in Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1977). In addition, Douglas Wilmer was seen in the Ray Harryhausen epics Jason and the Argonauts (1963, as Pelius) and Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1979, as the Vizier); his last film to date was the 1983 Bond flick Octopussy.