---
name: "Ralph Waite"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ralph-waite"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "22 June 1928"
died: "13 February 2014"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T10:17:58.058530+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ralph Waite

Actor. Born 22 June 1928 in White Plains, New York, USA. Died 13 February 2014.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 22 June 1928, White Plains, New York, USA
- **Died:** 13 February 2014

## Biography

Ralph Waite (1928–2014) was an American actor. He played Carl Fidelio Dupea in the film *Five Easy Pieces* (1970) and appeared earlier as Alibi in *Cool Hand Luke* (1967).

Waite trained at Bucknell University and Yale Divinity School before beginning an acting career at the age of 30. He worked in stage productions in New York and made his film debut in the late 1960s. He is best known for portraying John Walton Sr. on the CBS series *The Waltons* (1972–1981), a role he occasionally directed, and for his performance in the miniseries *Roots* (1977). Later television work included recurring roles as Jackson Gibbs on *NCIS* and Hank Booth on *Bones*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, catalog.afi.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Five Easy Pieces* (1970), Fi1m 88, as Carl Fidelio Dupea — [page](https://film.one/film/five-easy-pieces.md)

## Also known for

- *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), Irving Waller
- *Bones* (2005), Hank Booth
- *The Bodyguard* (1992), Herb Farmer
- *Cliffhanger* (1993), Frank — [page](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md)
- *NCIS* (2003), Jackson Gibbs
- *Cool Hand Luke* (1967), Alibi
- *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation* (2000), Sheriff Montgomery
- *Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco* (1996), Shadow (voice)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ralph-waite