WAITE-RALPH

MARINE – MINISTER – POLITICAL ACTIVIST – ACTOR

Ralph Waite is probably best known and remembered as an actor for playing “John Walton”, patriarch of the family in the TV series “The Waltons” (1972 to 1981).  However, he had a varied career that encompassed much more.  Following graduation from high school he joined the Marine Corps in which he proudly served from 1946 to 1948.  He then attended and graduated from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.  Following a brief period as a social worker he earned a master’s degree from Yale University Divinity School and was ordained a Presbyterian minister.  He next landed a position as religious editor for the publisher Harper and Row where he took an interest in liberal politics.  By 1963 Waite had decided on an acting career and commenced acting in summer theater and in off-Broadway productions.  His acting talents were readily recognized which led to a long career as a character actor, appearing in numerous movies and TV shows from 1967 to 2014.  During the 1990’s he ran unsuccessfully on three occasions as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.  In 2008 his association with the Navy was renewed when he commenced appearance on the TV show “NCIS” in a recurring role as Jackson Gibbs, the father of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.  The “NCIS” telecast on February 20, 2014, was his last TV appearance, the story line depicted his death and was in memory of “Our Friend.”  On February 13, 2014, Ralph Waite died peacefully in Palm Desert, California, of age-related illnesses at age 85.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)