Ralph Waite

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]