Ralph Waite Biography

This past year Mr. Waite has worked on a number of projects, recently closing on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter,

performing the title role in King Lear, and completing work on the CBS miniseries "The Third Twin," from the novel by Ken Follett. In the early years, Mr. Waite spent several seasons with the Theatre Company of Boston under the direction of David Wheeler. Mr. Waite's work has been seen on Broadway and Off-Broadway and in regional theatres throughout the country. His film credits include Five Easy Pieces, Cliffhanger, The Bodyguard, Cool Hand Luke, The Law Man, Chato's Land, On the Nickel, and Sioux City. He has performed in a number of movies for television, including "A Good Sport," "The Secret Life of John Chapman," "A Season of Hope," and "Keys," among others. At the Alley Theatre in Houston: The Young Man From Atlanta and Death of a Salesman. This past year he had a running role on Stephen Bochko's "Murder One" and starred in "Orleans" with Larry Hagman. Mr. Waite played the part of John Walton on the long running television series "The Waltons." He was founder and artistic director of the Los Angeles Actors Theatre, which was patterned after Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in New York. He worked with Mr. Papp on a number of productions, including Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and The Killdeer. He is currently running for Congress in the 44th Congressional District in California in a special election due to the death of Sonny Bono.