He was an alumnus of John Adams High School, Queens, New York, and graduated June 1935,[4] as was his Dr. No co-star, Jack Lord.

Wiseman made his Broadway debut in 1938, playing a small part in Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois.

He made his first major film appearance in 1951's Detective Story, where he recreated his performance from Broadway as an unstable small-time hood.

Wiseman's last appearance on television was the supporting role of Seymour Bergreen on a 1996 episode of Law & Order titled "Family Business".

Following the death of Charles Gray in 2000, Wiseman was the last surviving main villain of the James Bond films that Sean Connery made for United Artists.