Ralph Waite, longtime actor best known for his role as "Pa" in "the Waltons, died yesterday. His career is described on IMDb here:
Few may remember perhaps that Waite was also devoted to liberal causes and twice ran for Congress and lost in the district which encompassed his home in Palm Desert, first to another celeb politician, the late Sonny Bono (of "Sonny and Cher," later a restraunteur and Mayor of Palm Springs), and then against Bono's widow, Mary Bono Mack. The district was much more conservative then - it was the playground for conservative celebs like Bob Hope. The Bonos were relatively moderate Republicans - Sonny, whose son Chaz is transgender, was friends with Barney Frank when they served together, struggled with his vote on the Defense of Marriage Act and gave an impassioned speech when he ultimately decided to vote for it beginning, "I just can't Barney..." One likes to think perhaps their worries about the challenges from Waite and others kept them more moderate on other stuff. The district is now represented by Democrat Mark Takano, the first Asian-American openly gay congressman.
Waite, also, in his role as Pa Walton, played a rascally character we Kossacks would love. While the rest of the family went to church on Sunday, Pa stayed home - he was the villiage skeptic of sorts. He was always there for his children, wife, and parents, and he defended the elderly moonshine-brewing spinsters his wife didn't like because of her Baptist-Prohibitionist viewpoint (they called it "the recipe"). And he sure didn't try to keep his intellectual oldest son down on the farm - in some ways the series was a years-long version of Norman Rockwell's illustration "Breaking Home Ties." "The Waltons" was one of those shows conservatives claimed to love even when it taught liberal values. They seemed to not get that part. In his other roles he mostly played the same sort of character: crochety but loving, not book-learned but committed to values like treating others well. As Pa, his objection to organized religion seemed mostly due to the instance where it did not treat folks well.
Interestingly his later roles according to the IMDb entry included as a clergyman on "Days of Our Lives" and at least one other recent role as a divine. So in old age the skeptic became the churchman at least on the small screen, bringing everything full circle.
RIP, Ralph, and thanks for your work on stage and screen as well as in our political vineyards.
.IntroYou must enter an Intro for your Diary Entry between 300 and 1150 characters long (that's approximately 50-175 words without any html or formatting markup).Ralph Waite, longtime actor best known for his role as "Pa" in "the Waltons, died yesterday. His career is described on IMDb here:
Few may remember perhaps that Waite was also devoted to liberal causes and twice ran for Congress and lost in the district which encompassed his home in Palm Desert, first to another celeb politician, the late Sonny Bono (of "Sonny and Cher," later a restraunteur and Mayor of Palm Springs), and then against Bono's widow, Mary Bono Mack. The district was much more conservative then - it was the playground for conservative celebs like Bob Hope. The Bonos were relatively moderate Republicans - Sonny, whose son Chaz is transgender, was friends with Barney Frank when they served together, struggled with his vote on the Defense of Marriage Act and gave an impassioned speech when he ultimately decided to vote for it beginning, "I just can't Barney..." One likes to think perhaps their worries about the challenges from Waite and others kept them more moderate on other stuff. The district is now represented by Democrat Mark Takano, the first Asian-American openly gay congressman.
Waite, also, in his role as Pa Walton, played a rascally character we Kossacks would love. While the rest of the family went to church on Sunday, Pa stayed home - he was the villiage skeptic of sorts. He was always there for his children, wife, and parents, and he defended the elderly moonshine-brewing spinsters his wife didn't like because of her Baptist-Prohibitionist viewpoint (they called it "the recipe"). And he sure didn't try to keep his intellectual oldest son down on the farm - in some ways the series was a years-long version of Norman Rockwell's illustration "Breaking Home Ties." "The Waltons" was one of those shows conservatives claimed to love even when it taught liberal values. They seemed to not get that part. In his other roles he mostly played the same sort of character: crochety but loving, not book-learned but committed to values like treating others well. As Pa, his objection to organized religion seemed mostly due to the instance where it did not treat folks well.
Interestingly his later roles according to the IMDb entry included as a clergyman on "Days of Our Lives" and at least one other recent role as a divine. So in old age the skeptic became the churchman at least on the small screen, bringing everything full circle.
RIP, Ralph, and thanks for your work on stage and screen as well as in our political vineyards.