Ralph Waite (June 22, 1928 – February 13, 2014)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  –  Ralph Waite, who played the kind patriarch of
a tight-knit rural Southern family on the TV series "The Waltons," has
died, his manager said Thursday.

Waite, who lived in the Palm Springs area, died midday Thursday, said
his manager, Alan Mills.

Mills did not know the cause of death. He said he was taken aback because
Waite had been in good health and still working. He appeared last year in
episodes of the series "NCIS," "Bones" and "Days of Our Lives."

"He was a wonderful guy," Mills said. "He was always kind, always generous,
and a joy to work with."

"The Waltons," which aired on CBS from 1972 to 1981, starred Waite as
Ralph Walton, and Richard Thomas played his oldest son, John-Boy, an
aspiring novelist. The gentle family drama was set in the Blue Ridge
mountains of Virginia.

The show was narrated by its creator, Earl Hamner Jr., who based it on
his family memories.