# Ralph Waite

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).

## Early life

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. 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. He was a member of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1963 season.
In 1963, Waite made his Broadway debut as the Minister in Marathon '33, written and directed by June Havoc. He next appeared in Blues for Mister Charlie, and worked on- and off-Broadway steadily throughout the 1960s.

## Film work

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). He also voiced Shadow in Homeward Bound II.

## Later stage work

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.

## Personal life

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. 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.

### Political involvement

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. He was defeated in that election by Mary Bono, Sonny's widow, and lost to her again that November.
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.

#### Electoral history

| 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

On February 13, 2014, Waite died in Palm Desert, California, of natural causes at age 85. 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
### Film

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 | |
| 1971 | The Sporting Club | Olson | |
| 1971 | Lawman | Jack Dekker | |
| 1971 | The Grissom Gang | Mace | |
| 1972 | Chato's Land | Elias Hooker | |
| 1972 | Hot Summer Week | John | |
| 1972 | The Magnificent Seven Ride! | Jim MacKay | |
| 1973 | Trouble Man | Pete Cockrell | |
| 1973 | Kid Blue | Drummer | |
| 1973 | 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 | |
| 1990 | 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

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 | |
| 1999 | Chicken Soup for the Soul | Dad | |
| 1999 | 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 |
| 1982-1999 | Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain | John Walton Sr. | Reunion movies |
| 1982-1999 | A Day for Thanks on Walton's Mountain | John Walton Sr. | Reunion movies |
| 1982-1999 | A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion | John Walton Sr. | Reunion movies |
| 1982-1999 | A Walton Wedding | John Walton Sr. | Reunion movies |
| 1982-1999 | A Walton Easter | John Walton Sr. | Reunion movies |
| 1984 | A Good Sport | Tommy O'Bannon | Also executive producer |
| 1984 | Growing Pains | Rob | |
| 1985 | Crime of Innocence | Frank Hayward | |
| 1990 | Sparks: The Price of Passion | Orville Lemon | |
| 1994 | Sin & Redemption | Cal Simms | |
| 1994 | 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

* 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)