Personal Info
Birth date
1928-06-22 (96 Years)
Day of death
2014-02-13
Gender
Male
Known for
Acting
Place of birth
White Plains, New York, USA
Also known as
-Ralph Waite
Biography
Ralph Waite (June 22, 1928 – February 13, 2014) was an American actor. His most famous role may be John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS TV series The Waltons, which he occasionally directed. He is also well known for his portrayal of the slave ship first mate Slater in the mini-series Roots. Later in his career, he appeared as Reverend Norman Balthus for 16 out of 24 episodes over the two seasons of the HBO series Carnivàle (2003–2005). He portrayed the recurring roles of Father Matt on the daytime serial Days of our Lives, of Jethro Gibbs's (Mark Harmon) father, Jackson Gibbs, on NCIS and of Seeley Booth's (David Boreanaz) grandfather, Hank Booth on Bones.
Filmography
Grey's Anatomy
8.225
Overview:
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.The Mike Douglas Show
5.375
Overview:
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
7.64
Overview:
A Las Vegas team of forensic investigators are trained to solve criminal cases by scouring the crime scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that solve the mystery.NCIS
7.623
Overview:
From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has a shred of evidence connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.Bones
8.214
Overview:
Dr. Temperance Brennan and her colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab assist Special Agent Seeley Booth with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.Murder, She Wrote
7.5
Overview:
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.Bonanza
7.5
Overview:
The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.The Waltons
7.129
Overview:
The Waltons live their life in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II.The Practice
7.7
Overview:
A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”The Outer Limits
7.719
Overview:
Anthology series of composed of distinct story episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end, with occasional recurring story elements that were often tied together during season-finale clip shows.Carnivàle
7.911
Overview:
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar.Reading Rainbow
8.39
Overview:
Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories.Dinah!
6.667
Overview:
Dinah's show premiered 9 September 1974 and continued through to 4 September 1981. She started out the 70's with Dinah's Place which usually featured one guest and was more of a home oriented show about cooking, crafts and occasionally music. This format lasted until May of 1974. When the show came back in October of 1974 the format had changed drastically to a variety talk show which was called Dinah. and went on until 1981. This show was also known as "Dinah and Friends" during the summer of 1976.Roots
7.392
Overview:
The epic tale of celebrated Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley's ancestors as portrayed in the acclaimed twelve hour mini-series Roots, was first told in his 1976 bestseller Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The docu-drama covers a period of history that begins in mid-1700s Gambia, West Africa and concludes during post-Civil War United States, over 100 years later. This 1977 miniseries eventually won 9 Emmy awards, a Golden Globe award, and a Peabody award, and still stands as the most watched miniseries in U.S. history.Time Trax
6.4
Overview:
Time Trax is an American/Australian co-produced science fiction television series that first aired in 1993. A police officer, sent through time into the past, has to track down and return convicted criminals who have escaped prison in the future. This was the last new production from Lorimar Television.Shannon's Deal
8
Overview:
Shannon's Deal is an American legal drama. The show centers on a successful Philadelphia corporate lawyer named Jack Shannon, who lost his family and his job to a compulsive gambling habit. The saga of Shannon, who leaves a prestigious law firm after years of becoming unhappy with the legal system and being forced to take his clients to court, and whom subsequently opens his own low-rent practiceThe Third Twin
5.1
Overview:
A biologist falls for a twin she is studying and confronts a scientist with evidence on a cloning scandal.Nichols
5
Overview:
Nichols is an American Western television series starring James Garner broadcast in the United States on NBC during the 1971-72 season. Set the fictional town of Nichols, Arizona, in 1914, Nichols differed from traditional Western series of the era. The main character, a sheriff, rode on a motorcycle and in an automobile rather than on the traditional horse. The hero did not carry a firearm and was generally opposed to the use of violence to solve problems, preferring other means. Margot Kidder portrayed Ruth, the love interest/barmaid of Nichols.The West
8.4
Overview:
The West, sometimes marketed as Ken Burns Presents: The West, is a documentary film about the American Old West. It was directed by Stephen Ives and the executive producer was Ken Burns. The film originally aired on PBS in September 1996.The Mississippi
6
Overview:
The Mississippi was a television series which ran for 2 seasons from 1982 to 1984. The series consisted of 27 episodes, 1 pilot, 6 first season episodes and 17 episodes in the second season. The series was written by Aubrey Solomon and starred Ralph Waite, Linda Miller and Stan Shaw. Ralph Waite played Ben Walker, a successful criminal attorney who after retiring his law practice, sought a more simple life on the mighty Mississippi river as a simple stern-wheel river boat captain. But at every port he would stop at he'd find someone who needed a good attorney and he would end up defending them. His "crew" consisted of Stella McMullen and Lafe Tate, both of whom was more interested in helping people, fighting crime and becoming attorneys than running the tug. Filming occurred in several cities along the Mississippi River including Natchez, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee.The Bodyguard
6.698
Overview:
A former Secret Service agent grudgingly takes an assignment to protect a pop idol who's threatened by a crazed fan. At first, the safety-obsessed bodyguard and the self-indulgent diva totally clash. But before long, all that tension sparks fireworks of another sort, and the love-averse tough guy is torn between duty and romance.Cliffhanger
6.511
Overview:
A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker and his partner, Hal, are called to return to the same peak to rescue a group of stranded climbers, only to learn the climbers are actually thieving hijackers who are looking for boxes full of money.Cool Hand Luke
7.728
Overview:
When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco
6.587
Overview:
When the pets accidentally get separated from their vacationing owners, Chance, Shadow, and Sassy navigate the mean streets of San Francisco, trying to find their home across the Golden Gate Bridge. But the road is blocked by a series of hazards, both man and beast.Chato's Land
6.571
Overview:
In 1870s New Mexico, a half-breed kills a bigoted sheriff in self-defense but the posse that eventually hunts him finds itself in dangerous territory.The Magnificent Seven Ride!
5.5
Overview:
Marshal Chris Adams turns down a friend's request to help stop the depredations of a gang of Mexican bandits. When his wife is killed by bank robbers and his friend is killed capturing the last thief, Chris feels obligated to take up his friend's cause and recruits a writer and five prisoners to destroy the desperadoes.The last in the original series of four "Magnificent Seven" movies.Lawman
6.534
Overview:
While passing through the town of Bannock, a bunch of drunken cattlemen go overboard with their celebrating and accidentally kill an old man with a stray shot. They return home to Sabbath unaware of his death. Bannock lawman Jered Maddox later arrives there to arrest everyone involved on a charge of murder. Sabbath is run by land baron Vince Bronson, a benevolent despot, who, upon hearing of the death, offers restitution for the incident.Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective
3.4
Overview:
"I will try to be normal" 12-year-old Ace Ventura Jr. promises. Thats cool, except whats normal for him is finding missing mutts, kidnapped kitties or gone gators and creating hilarious chaos every step of the way.Five Easy Pieces
7.128
Overview:
A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.Crash and Burn
4.4
Overview:
Unicom is a powerful organization overseeing most of the world after its economic collapse. They have banned computers and robots in an attempt to insure "life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic stability". When a Unicom Synth robot infiltrates a southwest TV station and kills the manager, a revolutionary against the gestapo-like corporation, a lowly Unicom delivery man must help the rest of the station survive through the incoming "thermal storm".Acting
2012Gabe the Cupid Dog as R.L. Dutton
201125 Hill as Ed
2010Letters to God as Mr. Perryfield
2009Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective as Grandpa Ventura
2008A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke' as Self
2008Generation Gap as Chick
2007Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses as Jacob Brawley
2005Bones (3 Episodes) as Hank Booth
2005Grey's Anatomy (1 Episode) as Irving Waller
2004Silver City as Casey Lyle
2003Blessings as Sheriff
2003NCIS (6 Episodes) as Jackson Gibbs
2003Carnivàle (24 Episodes) as Norman Belthus
2003Timequest as The Traveler
2002Sunshine State as Furman Temple
2001Spirit as Jacob Hardesty
2000CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (1 Episode) as Sheriff Montgomery
2000The President's Man as President Mathews
1997The Third Twin (2 Episodes) as Senator Proust
1997A Walton Easter as John Walton
1997The Practice (1 Episode) as Walter Josephson
1996The West (1 Episode) as Self (voice)
1996Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco as Shadow (voice)
1995The Outer Limits (1 Episode) as Gene Morton
1995A Walton Wedding as John Walton
1995A Season of Hope as Sam Hackett
1994Sioux City as Drew McDermott
1994Sin and Redemption as Cal Simms
1994Sin & Redemption as Cal Simms
1994Keys as Dr. C.J. Halligan
1993A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion as John Walton
1993Cliffhanger as Frank
1993Time Trax (1 Episode) as Lamont Carson
1992The Bodyguard as Herb Farmer
1991Wild by Law as Aldo Leopold (voice)
1990Crash and Burn as Lathan Hooks
1990Shannon's Deal (1 Episode) as Harry
1990Sparks: The Price of Passion as Orville Lemon
1989Snake Treaty as Unknown
1988The River Pirates as Narrator (voice)
1985Crime of Innocence as Frank Hayward
1984Murder, She Wrote (1 Episode) as D.A. Paul Robbins
1984A Good Sport as Tommy O'Bannon
1983Reading Rainbow (1 Episode) as Himself - Narrator (voice)
1983The Mississippi (23 Episodes) as Ben Walker
1982A Day for Thanks on Waltons Mountain as John Walton
1982Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain as John Walton
1982A Wedding on Waltons Mountain as John Walton
1981The Gentleman Bandit as Father Bernard Pagano
1980Angel City as Jared Teeter
1980On the Nickel as C.G.
1980OHMS as Floyd Wing
1977Red Alert as Henry Stone
1977Roots (0, 2 Episode) as Unknown, Slater
1976The Secret Life of John Chapman as John Chapman
1974Dinah! (5 Episodes) as Self
1973The Stone Killer as Mathews
1973Kid Blue as Drummer
1972Trouble Man as Pete Cockrell
1972The Waltons (210 Episodes) as John Walton Sr.
1972The Magnificent Seven Ride! as Jim Mackay
1972Hot Summer Week as John
1972Chato's Land as Elias Hooker
1971Nichols (1 Episode) as Sam Burton
1971The Grissom Gang as Mace
1971Lawman as Jack Dekker
1971The Sporting Club as Olson
1971The Pursuit of Happiness as Detective Cromie
1970Five Easy Pieces as Carl Fidelio Dupea
1969Last Summer as Peter's father (uncredited)
1968A Lovely Way to Die as Sean Magruder
1967The Desperate Hours as Lt. Fredericks
1967Cool Hand Luke as Alibi
1967The Borgia Stick as Man from Toledo
1961The Mike Douglas Show (1 Episode) as Self
1959Bonanza (1 Episode) as Hoby Miles
Writing
1980On the Nickel ... Writer