Barry Nelson, first onscreen 007, dies at 89

April 14, 2007 Barry Nelson, an MGM contract player during the 1940s who later had a prolific theater career and was the first actor to play James Bond onscreen, has died. The cause of death was not known, she said. Nelson entered the Army during World War II and went on the road with other actors performing the wartime play "Winged Victory," which was later made into a movie starring Red Buttons, George Reeves and Nelson.

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