Ralph Waite
Ralph Waite ( born June 22, 1928 in White Plains, New York, † February 13, 2014 in Palm Desert, California ) was an American actor. His most famous role was that of John Walton Senior from the series The Waltons.
Life
Waite was the oldest of five children. He attended before his acting career Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts ( BA). For a time he worked as a social worker. At Yale University School of Divinity, he took more courses before he turned to acting.
Waite had at a young age problems with alcohol and was at the start of filming of the Waltons already strong alcoholic. How Waite later reported in American talk shows, he then can do without alcohol an hour, but the role of the sympathetic, patents father's extended family moved Waite, to think about his life. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous, and has since been abstinent. In the seventh season of the series were devoted two episodes of the problem, among others, will Waites film role as John Walton alcoholics during his service in World War portrayed. Even with the self-produced and directed by him film Street of knitted stumbled (1980 ) to Waite dealt with the issue.
Waite was married three times and had three daughters from his first marriage. His step- son Liam Waite is also active as an actor. Ralph Waite died at the age of 85 years at his home in Palm Desert.