Actor Ralph Waite Passes Away

Ralph Waite, an Emmy-nominated actor for his tenure on The Waltons, has passed away at the age of 85. He may be unknown to younger viewers, but Waite played one of the most beloved father figures of the 1970s on the hit television series about a West Virginia family living through the Great Depression. Even in later years, Waite continued to act on HBO's Carnivale and on CBS's NCIS. Waite didn't begin acting until his 30s, but he said of it: “I felt alive for the first time since I can’t remember when.”