Ralph Waite

American actor (1928–2014)

Not to be confused with Ralph White.

Ralph Waite

Waite at the 40th anniversary of The Waltons on September 29, 2012

Born| (1928-06-22)June 22, 1928

White Plains, New York, U.S.

Died| February 13, 2014(2014-02-13) (aged 85)

Palm Desert, California, U.S.

Resting place| White Plains Rural Cemetery
Alma mater| Bucknell University and Yale Divinity School
Occupation(s)| Actor, political activist
Years active| 1954–2014
Political party| Democratic
Spouses|

Beverly Waite

(m. 1951; div. 1966)​

Kerry Shear Waite

(m. 1977; div. 1981)​

Linda East

(m. 1982)​

Children| 3

Ralph Waite (June 22, 1928 – February 13, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his lead role as John Walton Sr. on The Waltons (1972–1981), which he occasionally directed. He later had recurring roles as two other heroic fathers; in NCIS as Jackson Gibbs, the father of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and in Bones, as Seeley Booth's grandfather.

Waite had supporting roles in movies such as Cool Hand Luke (1967), Five Easy Pieces (1970), The Grissom Gang (1971), The Bodyguard (1992), and Cliffhanger (1993).[1]

## Early life

[edit]

Waite, the eldest of five children, was born in White Plains, New York, on June 22, 1928, to Ralph H. Waite, a construction engineer, and Esther (née Mitchell) Waite.[2] He graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1946. Too young for World War II, Waite served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1946 to 1948, then graduated from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He worked briefly as a social worker. Waite earned a master's degree from Yale University's Divinity School and was an ordained Presbyterian minister and religious editor at Harper & Row, New York, before deciding on an acting career.[3] He was a member of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1963 season.[4]

In 1963, Waite made his Broadway debut as the Minister in Marathon '33, written and directed by June Havoc.[5] He next appeared in Blues for Mister Charlie, and worked on- and off-Broadway steadily throughout the 1960s.[6]

## Film work

[edit]

From The Waltons (1972), L-R: Ralph Waite, Richard Thomas, and Michael Learned

His film work included roles in Cool Hand Luke, Five Easy Pieces, Lawman, Kid Blue, The Grissom Gang, Chato's Land, and The Stone Killer. His later films included The Bodyguard, the part of Frank the helicopter pilot in the 1993 film Cliffhanger, and as the mysterious time traveler in Timequest (2002).[7] He also voiced Shadow in Homeward Bound II.

## Later stage work

[edit]

Waite scored a personal triumph when he created the role of Will Kidder in the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Young Man from Atlanta, by playwright Horton Foote, in 1995.[8]

## Personal life

[edit]

Waite was married three times, two marriages ending in divorce. He had three daughters from his first marriage. His eldest daughter, Sharon Waite, died of leukemia when she was 9 years old in 1964.[9] Liam Waite, one of Waite's stepsons, is also an actor. After 50 years away from organized religion, Waite returned in 2010 and became an active member of Spirit of the Desert Presbyterian Fellowship in Palm Desert, California.[3]

### Political involvement

[edit]

Waite ran unsuccessfully for Congress in California as a Democrat on three occasions: In 1990, he challenged veteran GOP incumbent Al McCandless in the Riverside County-based 37th district, losing by 5%. In 1998, Waite ran in the special election for the then-Palm Springs-based 44th district left vacant by the death of incumbent Sonny Bono.[10] He was defeated in that election by Mary Bono, Sonny's widow, and lost to her again that November.[11]

On October 21, 1991, Waite introduced former California Governor Jerry Brown prior to the latter's speech announcing his candidacy for the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination.[12]

#### Electoral history

[edit]

Year  | Office  | Democrat  | Votes  | Pct  | Republican  | Votes  | Pct

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1990  | U.S House of Representatives
District 37  | Jeffrey Jacobs 29%
Ralph Waite 71%  | 103,961  | 44.8%  | Bud Mathewson 27%
Al McCandless 73%  | 115,469  | 49.8%
1998  | U.S House of Representatives
District 44 (special election)  | Ralph Waite  | 24,228  | 28.8%  | Mary Bono | 53,755  | 64%
1998  | U.S House of Representatives
District 39 (general election)  | Ralph Waite  | 57,697  | 35.7%  | Mary Bono | 97,013  | 60.1%

## Death

[edit]

On February 13, 2014, Waite died in Palm Desert, California, of natural causes at age 85.[13] He is buried in White Plains Rural Cemetery in New York. The NCIS episode "Honor Thy Father", the season 11 finale, is dedicated to Waite's memory.

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Director

* On the Nickel (1980) (Also writer)

Actor

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1967  | Cool Hand Luke | "Alibi"  |
1968  | A Lovely Way to Die | Sean Magruder  |
1969  | Last Summer | Peter's Father  | Uncredited
1970  | Five Easy Pieces | Carl Fidelio Dupea  |
1971  | The Pursuit of Happiness | Detective Cromie  |
The Sporting Club | Olson  |
Lawman | Jack Dekker  |
The Grissom Gang | Mace  |
1972  | Chato's Land | Elias Hooker  |
Hot Summer Week | John  |
The Magnificent Seven Ride! | Jim MacKay  |
1973  | Trouble Man | Pete Cockrell  |
Kid Blue | Drummer  |
The Stone Killer | Mathews  |
1980  | On the Nickel | C.G.  |
1980  | Angel City | Jared Teeter  |
1988  | Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood | The Narrator  |
1989  | Red Earth, White Earth | Martin  |
1990  | Crash and Burn | Lathan Hooks  |
Desperate Hours |  |
1992  | The Bodyguard | Herb Farmer  |
1993  | Cliffhanger | Ranger Frank  |
1994  | Sioux City | Drew McDermott  |
1996  | Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco | Shadow  | Voice
2000  | Timequest | The Time Traveler  |
2002  | Sunshine State | Furman Temple  |
2004  | Silver City | Casey Lyle  |
2010  | Letters to God | Cornelius Perryfield  |
2011  | 25 Hill | Ed  |
2012  | Gabe the Cupid Dog | R.L. Dutton  |

### Television

[edit]

Director

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

1973-1980  | The Waltons | 16 episodes
1983  | The Mississippi | Episode "Mardi Gras"

Actor

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1966  | Look Up and Live | Host  |
1967–1968  | N.Y.P.D. | Robert Stryker  |
1970  | Bonanza | Hoby  | Episode "The Lady and the Mark"
1971  | Nichols | Sam Burton  |
1972–1981  | The Waltons | John Walton Sr.  |
1977  | Roots | Slater, First Mate  |
1978  | CBS: On the Air | Himself  |
1983  | The Mississippi | Ben Walker  |
1987  | Reading Rainbow |  |
1989  | Murder, She Wrote | District Attorney Paul Robbins  |
1994  | Time Trax | Lamont Carson  |
1996  | Murder One | Malcolm Dietrich  |
1997  | Orleans | Otis Leblanc  |
1999  | The Outer Limits | Gene Morton  |
Chicken Soup for the Soul | Dad  |
Rocket Power | Doc Freimouth  | Voice
2001  | All My Children | Bart  |
2003–2005  | Carnivàle | Reverend Norman Balthus  |
2004  | The Practice | Walter Josephson  |
2007  | Cold Case | Felton Metz  |
2008  | CSI | Sheriff Montgomery  | Episode "Young Man with a Horn"
2008–2013  | NCIS | Jackson Gibbs | 8 episodes
2008  | The Cleaner | Jonus Mullins  |
2011  | Kickin' It | Principal Keener  | 7 episodes
2009–2014  | Days of Our Lives | Father Matt  |
2009  | Grey's Anatomy | Irving Waller  | Episode "Tainted Obligation"
2009–2013  | Bones | Hank Booth | 3 episodes
2011  | Off the Map | Abuelito  | Episode "On the Mean Streets of San Miguel"

TV movies

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1967  | The Borgia Stick | The Man From Toledo  |
1973  | The Thanksgiving Story |  |
1976  | The Secret Life of John Chapman | John Chapman  |
1977  | Red Alert | Henry Stone  |
1977  | Waiting for Godot | Pozzo  |
1980  | OHMS | Floyd Wing  |
1980  | Angel City | Jared Teeter  |
1981  | The Gentleman Bandit | Father Bernard Pagano  |
1982-1999  | A Wedding on Walton's Mountain | John Walton Sr.  | Reunion movies
Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain
A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain
A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion
A Walton Wedding
A Walton Easter
1984  | A Good Sport | Tommy O'Bannon  | Also executive producer
Growing Pains | Rob  |
1985  | Crime of Innocence | Frank Hayward  |
1990  | Sparks: The Price of Passion | Orville Lemon  |
1994  | Sin & Redemption | Cal Simms  |
Keys | Dr. C.J. Halligan  |
1995  | A Season of Hope | Sam Hackett  |
1997  | The Third Twin | Senator Proust  |
2000  | The President's Man | President Mathews  |
2001  | Spirit | Jacob  |
2003  | Blessings | Sheriff  |
2007  | Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses  | Jacob

Brawley

2009  | Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective | Grandpa Ventura  |

## Theatre

[edit]

* Marathon '33 (1963)
* Blues for Mister Charlie (1964)
* Hogan's Goat (play) (1965)
* The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1967)
* Other People's Money (play, before the film) (1991, Trinity Repertory Company, Providence, RI)
* The Young Man from Atlanta (1995)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ralph Waite will be honored in 'NCIS' season finale". USA Today. February 24, 2014.
2. ^ "Ralph Waite profile at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
3. ^ a b "Presbyterian Church (USA) – Ralph Waite finds a home in church". Pcusa.org. August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
4. ^ Peninsula Players 65th Anniversary Program, 1999
5. ^ Playbill, vol. 1 (January 1964) No. 1, Marathon ’33, p. 27.
6. ^ Byrge, Duane (February 13, 2014). "'The Waltons' Actor Ralph Waite Dead at 85". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
7. ^ "R.I.P. 'The Waltons' Patriarch Ralph Waite". Deadline Hollywood. February 13, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
8. ^ Canby, Vincent (January 30, 1995). "THEATER REVIEW; Nameless Menace In Latest By Foote". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
9. ^ Interview with Beverly Waite Archived December 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine; accessed May 19, 2014.
10. ^ Lyman, Rick (February 13, 1998). "On Stage and Off". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
11. ^ "'The Waltons' actor Ralph Waite dies at 85". Fox 5 San Diego. February 14, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
12. ^ Brown Presidential Campaign Announcement, Oct 21 1991
13. ^ "The Waltons' actor Ralph Waite dies at 85 in Palm Desert." Archived May 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, "Mydesert.com", February 13, 2014

## External links

[edit]

* Ralph Waite at IMDb
* Ralph Waite at the Internet Broadway Database
* Ralph Waite at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
* Ralph Waite at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
* Ralph Waite on Biography Channel
* Ralph Waite on Find A Grave

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