Ralph Waite (born June 22, 1929) is an Emmy Award-nominated American actor. His most famous role may be John Walton Sr. on the 1970s CBS program The Waltons. He also more recently appeared on the HBO series Carnivàle.
Waite, the oldest of five children, was born in White Plains, New York, the son of Esther (née Mitchell) and Ralph H. Waite, a construction engineer. Before becoming an actor, he graduated from Bucknell University located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania with a B.A. degree, and tried several occupations such as social worker, He received his graduate degree from Yale University School of Divinity. He was a Presbyterian minister and religious editor, before deciding on a career in acting.
He has twice run unsuccessfully for Congress for the Democratic Party, in 1990 and 1998. He has had three marriages, two of which ended in divorce. He had three daughters from his first marriage. One of his daughters died when she was nine years old. His stepson, Liam Waite, is also an actor.
