Ralph Waite | |
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![]() Waite at the 40th anniversary of The Waltons on September 29, 2012 | |
Born | White Plains, New York, U.S. | June 22, 1928
Died | February 13, 2014 Palm Desert, California, U.S. | (aged 85)
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]