Background and career
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 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).
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, and studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
Wait'es first professional role was the chief of police in The Balcony in a 1960 production of the play in New York. In 1963, he 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. His first film role was in Cool Hand Luke in 1967, followed by multiple other film roles.
Beginning in 1972, Waite appeared in The Waltons for nine seasons and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of John Walton Sr., the father of seven children, in the series that followed a Virginia family during the Great Depression. Waite was also the director for 16 episodes of the series. Waite founded the experimental Los Angeles Actor's theatre in 1975 and served as its artistic director. In 1977, he appeared in the mini-series Roots and was nominated for an Emmy Award. Other television roles included The Mississippi (1982-1984), Murder One (1996), Carnivàle (2003-2005), and Days of Our Lives (2009-2013). Waite originated the role of Will Kidder in the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Young Man from Atlanta by playwright Horton Foote, in 1995. 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. In the 2000s, Waite had recurring roles in NCIS as Jackson Gibbs, the father of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and in Bones as Seeley Booth's grandfather.
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.
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.
