Ralph Waite

Ralph Waite (June 22, 1928 – February 13, 2014) was an American actor, voice artist, and political activist, best known for his role as John Walton, Sr. on The Waltons, which he occasionally directed. In addition, Waite appeared in many guest roles on numerous television series, including a recurring role in NCIS as Jackson Gibbs, the father of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and in Bones as Hank Booth, the grandfather of Special Agent Seeley Booth.
== 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. 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 Divinity School and was an ordained Presbyterian minister and religious editor at Harper & Row, New York City before deciding on an acting career. He was a member of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1963 season.
Waite made his Broadway debut in Blues for Mister Charlie, and would work on and off-Broadway steadily throughout the 1960s.
== Film work ==
His film work included roles in Cool Hand Luke, Five Easy Pieces, Lawman, The Grissom Gang, Chato's Land and The Stone Killer. His later films included The Bodyguard, and the part of Frank the helicopter pilot in the 1993 film Cliffhanger.
== 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 five percentage points. In 1998, Waite ran in the special election for the then-Palm Springs-based 44th district left vacant by the death of incumbentSonny 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 then-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 peacefully in Palm Desert, California, of age-related illnesses at age 85.
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