Ralph Waite Movies
Upon earning his BA at Bushnell University, Ralph Waite embarked upon no fewer than three careers before deciding upon acting. First, Waite was a social case worker in New York's Westchester County, a job he quit after running into the stone walls of indifference and bureaucracies. Then, after spending three at the Yale School of Divinity, he was a practicing Presbyterian minister; this, too fell by the wayside due to Waite's unwillingness to conform to church protocol and his disenchantment over the perceived hypocrisy of his fellow clerics. Finally, he worked as a religious editor for the publishing firm of Harper & Row. This job might have panned out, but Waite, separated from his wife and suffering an identity crisis, felt the need to "prove himself" by entering a tougher, more competitive field. Thus, at the age of 30, Waite began taking acting lessons. His professional debut in the off-Broadway production The Balcony proved so disastrous that it is little wonder he chooses to regard his 1965 Broadway bow in Hogan's Goat as the true beginning of his career. After an excellent showing as Jack Nicholson's impotent brother in Five Easy Pieces (1971) the offers began pouring in. In 1972, Waite was cast as John Walton in the immensely popular TV series The Waltons. During the nine-season run of that ratings bonanza, Waite helped form the Los Angeles Actors' Theatre. He also was prominently featured in the blockbuster miniseries Roots (1977), and wrote and directed (but did not star in) the 1980 film On the Money. His post-Walton credits include the TV series Mississippi (1985) and such films as Cliffhanger (1993). In retrospect, it is fitting that two of Ralph Waite's TV-movies of the 1990s bore the titles Crash and Burn and Sin and Redemption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As the final war between Good and Evil looms two powerful avatars divided by fate share one mission. For Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin, the race is on to find the elusive Henry Scudder--and the fate of the world depends on who finds him first.
- Starring:
- Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown, (more)
- 2003
Buried under several layers of old-age makeup and outfitted with thick horn-rims and a grey wig, Mary Tyler Moore stars in this TV-movie adaptation of Anna Quindlen's novel Blessings. Moore is cast as octogenarian Lydia Blessing, who lives on a huge country estate, imprisoned by her own bitter memories of the past (depicted in sepia-toned flashbacks, with Janaya Stephens as the young Lydia). The old recluse comes out of her shell briefly to hire a new handyman, sullen ex-convict Skip Cuddy (Liam Waite), who has plenty of his own emotional baggage. When Skip stumbles across an abandoned baby, he sets in motion a series of poignant events that will ultimately return both Lydia and him to the land of the living -- provided that they aren't stopped in their tracks by Lydia's disapproving daughter, Meredith (Kathleen Quinlan), and judgmental housekeeper, Jennifer (China Chow). Filmed on location in Nova Scotia, Blessings first aired October 5, 2003, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Tyler Moore, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
1934. The Dustbowl. The last great age of magic. In a time of titanic sandstorms, vile plagues, drought and pistilence - signs of God's fury and harbingers of the Apocalypse - the final conflict between good and evil is about to begin. The battle will take place in the Heartland of an empire called America. And when it is over, man will forever trade away wonder for reason. See the conflict of good vs. evil played out against a pair of vivid and unusual backdrops: a traveling carnival working the American Dustbowl circuit, and an evangelical ministry in California.
- Starring:
- Nick Stahl, Clancy Brown, (more)
- 2001
Not long after the death of her mother in a car accident, Kelly (Elisabeth Moss) and her father Jesse (Greg Evigan) move to New Orleans. Their new house is reportedly haunted--and Kelly is convinced that the ghost is begging for her help. Jesse, however, is more skeptical, and with the assistance of Kelly's troublesome friend Cole (Austin O'Brien) he tries to prove that the "haunting" is actually a manifestation of Kelly's own guilt feelings. As it turns out, however, both Kelly and Jesse are right! Evidently intended for theatrical release, Spirit was first seen in the US as a cable-TV offering on the Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The sixth TV-movie spinoff of the popular family series The Waltons, A Walton Easter manages to reunite all of the surviving cast members--and in so doing, unintentionally reveals why several of those performers hadn't been doing much acting recently. Throwing the orginal series' chronology to the four winds, executvie producer Earl Hamner Jr. would have us believe that the 40th wedding anniversary of John and Olivia Walton (Ralph Waite, Michael Learned) is taking place in the year 1969, which doesn't quite explain how the couple managed to have all those teenaged offspring back in the late 1930s. Once we're past this inconsistency, the story boils down to the Easter reunion of the family at Walton Mountain in West Virginia--and more specifically, the return to the fold of John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas), now a successful TV news anchorman in New York. John-Boy has not only brought along his pregnant wife Janet (Kate McNeil), but also Aurora Jameson (Sydney Walsh), a Time magazine photojournalist who is covering the reunion. Gradually, the various intrigues of the other Waltons are shunted to the background as the film's Big Question raises its head: Will John-Boy return to New York with his city-bred wife Janet, or will he sentimentally choose to remain at Walton Mountain...with someone else by his side? A Walton Easter debuted March 30, 1997 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Ralph Waite, (more)
- 1997
In this two-part suspenser inspired by Ken Follett's bestselling novel, university pscyhobiologist Jenny Ferrami (Kelly McGillis), in the process of studying a possible link between genetics and criminal behavior, stumbles upon a secret cloning experiment conducted by a major company. Figuring prominently in the proceedings is likeable law student Steve Logan (Jason Gedrick), who may or may not be the identical twin of a serial rapist. . .or possibly two rapists! It turns out that there are far more human "duplicates" in the world than Jenny could ever have imagined--and as she tracks down these clones to convince the public that there is dirty work afoot, sinister forces, tied in with a powerful triumverate, conspire to silence Jenny for keeps. Originally telecast by CBS, Ken Follett's The Third Twin first aired on November 9 and 11, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Jason Gedrick, (more)
- 1994
A mother's happiness is shattered when she learns an awful truth about the man she married shortly after she had been brutally raped and left pregnant by a stranger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Gibb, Richard Grieco, (more)
- 1993
America's favorite family, now grown with kids of their own, reunites for an old-fashioned Thanksgiving. Set in the wake of JFK's assassination, the gathering provides each family member time to look back upon their lives. This heart-warming family drama marks the return of Richard Thomas to the role of John-Boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Ralph Waite, (more)
In this drama, a mayor's political career is threatened by the avaricious land speculators who are trying to force her to give into their demands. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Set in the year 2030, the film concerns a rebel movement led by Lathan Hooks (Ralph Waite), who is dedicated to the riddance of the conservative corporate machine which rules America. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Ganus, Megan Ward, (more)
- 1989
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) takes a sentimental journey to the New Hampshire campus of her old alma mater. Alas, her favorite English professor Leon Walker (E.G. Marshall) is in no mood for a reunion: Discovered at the scene of a young girl's murder, Professor Walker has already confesses to the crime, claiming that he killed in self-defense. Jessica does not believe this confession any more than she believes the subsequent confession made by a young student with whom the dead woman had been involved. Among the guest stars this week is Dinah Shore, appearing as Jessica's onetime sorority sister Emily Dyers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The ads for Red Earth, White Earth ballyhooed the soap-opera aspects of the made-for-TV film, particularly the fact that the young protagonist's (Tim Daly) best friend was shacking up with the boy's mother. Played down in the ads was the central crisis of the film: A battle between a white farm family and the Native Americans who have recently acquired the political pull to claim the family's land. The farmers are flummoxed not only by the ethnic issue but also by their long-standing personal and financial woes. Given the high-charged political atmosphere of Red Earth, White Earth, it's ironic that its originally scheduled 1988 telecast was moved to early 1989--bumped off the air by one of the Bush-Dukakis debates. The film was based on a novel by Will Weaver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In this prison drama, two adolescent girls are incarcerated with adults by an obsessive judge. There they are terribly exploited and abused. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Originally made for television, creator Earl Hamner narrates this two-hour compilation of highlights from The Waltons TV series. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Advertised as a "return" to the spirit of the old Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn films (not all of which were that spirited--try watching Keeper of the Flame sometime), the made-for-TV Good Sport is essentially a reworking of 1941's Woman of the Year. Ralph Waite plays a gritty sports columnist who enters reluctantly into the world of "haute courte" fashions to do a story on an ex-athlete turned clothes designer. He meets Lee Remick, an elegant fashion designer, and it's oil-and-water time for the next twenty minutes or so. Waite and Remick become friends, vowing to keep things strictly platonic. It doesn't take a PhD to ascertain what will happen next. For another slant on the premise of A Good Sport, catch the superior 1957 Gregory Peck/Lauren Bacall vehicle Designing Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The cast of the long-running Waltons TV series (minus Richard Thomas as John Boy, here replaced by John Wightman) are reunited for the TV movie Day of Thanks on Walton's Mountain. The year is 1946: the clan gathers to compare notes on Thanksgiving. We learn that Jim-Bob (David W. Harper) is trying to open his own business; Jason (John Walmsley) plans to close his restaurant and pursue a musical career; and matriarch Olivia Walton (originally played by Michael Learned, but never seen in this film) is lying in the hospital, with husband John (Ralph Waite) by her side. What suspense there is concerns the possibility that John Walton may not make it home in time to carve the Turkey. Originally telecast November 22, 1982, Day of Thanks etc. was the last of several Waltons feature-length films...for the time being, that is. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Featuring a reunion of most of the cast of the long-running family series, The Waltons, this touching drama centers on the attempt of the now grown and scattered brood of Olivia and John Walton to regroup for an old fashioned family holiday. Unfortunately, John-Boy is not among them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
A Wedding on Walton's Mountain has no John-Boy (Richard Thomas) or Olivia (Michael Learned),but does feature five regulars from the long-running TV series: Ralph Waite as John Walton, Ellen Corby as Grandma, Mary Elizabeth McDonough as Erin, Jon Walmsley as Jason and Judy Norton-Taylor as Mary Ellen. The year is 1947, and the wedding is Erin's, about to tie the knot with lumberman Paul Northridge (Morgan Stevens). Erin's ex-boyfriend (Louis Welch) threatens to gum up the works, but with the help and support of her family the girl is successfully wed. The first of several Waltons TV movies following the demise of the series in 1981, The Wedding on Walton's Mountain turned out to be an unexpected ratings magnet. It assured the Faithful that there would be many minings of the Waltons vaults for future made-for-TV specials--the most recent of these appearing in early 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The second of three TV-movie spinoffs of the long-running series The Waltons, Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain marked the return of actress Michael Learned in the role of Olivia Walton, a part she had relinquished when her contract expired one year before the original series' cancellation in 1981. Still consigned to a tuberculosis sanitorium, Olivia has only a few scenes in the film, though she does return to Walton Mountain in time to help her daughter Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) weather a crisis. It appears as if Mary Ellen, newly wed to longtime beau Jonesy (Richard Gilliland) will be unable to have children, thanks to an auto accident; meanwhile, the rest of the Walton clan has problems of their own, including son Ben's (Eric Wilton) efforts to restore harmony between himself and his own wife Cindy (Leslie Winston). Of the original Waltons cast, only Richard Thomas, Ellen Corby and the late Will Geer were absent from the proceedings. Mother's Day on Walton's Mountain debuted May 9, 1982, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Walmsley
- 1981
Made for television, The Gentleman Bandit stars Ralph Waite as a popular priest whose life is shattered by a case of mistaken identity. Waite is fingered by a witness as a holdup man; during a lineup, several other witnesses confirm this. Despite his protestations, Waite cannot account for his actions during the crime, and is vilified by the newspapers and by his own superiors. Only the priest's parishioners believe him--but that may not be enough to keep him out of prison. Based on the real-life ordeal of Baltimore priest Fr. Bernard Pagano, Gentleman Bandit was filmed under the title The Bandit Priest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The ninth and final season of The Waltons opens with the series 200th episode, in which John Walton (Ralph Waite) pays a visit to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in order to clear his black friend Harley Foster (Hal Williams) from a trumped-up criminal charge. As for the other resident of Walton Mountain, John's wife Olivia continues battling TB at a health spa in Arizona (actress Michael Learned is no longer a regular); oldest son John-Boy (Robert Wightman) has recovered from his wartime injuries and is working as a news correspondent in Paris. Another son, Ben (Eric Scott), has been captured by the enemy but is released when WW2 ends, whereupon he returns to his Viriginia home with plans of becoming an engineer. Not long after applying for medical school, daughter Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor) discovers that her husband Curt (Tom Bower), reported killed at Pearl Harbor, is still alive -- which puts her in quite a dilemma since in the intervening years she has fallen in love with another man. And son Jason (Jon Walmsley) is engaged to WAC Toni Hazelton (Lisa Harrison). With hostilies in Europe at an end, John-Boy returns to America to launch a new aspect of his journalistic career at an experimental college TV station; ultimately, however, he comes back to Walton mountain. As the series comes to a close, John Walton prepares to leave Virginia to join Olivia in Arizona -- but who will take charge of the family's lumber mill? ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Waite, Robert Wightman, (more)
- 1980
Angel City plays like a Grapes of Wrath updated to the 1980s. Ralph Waite plays a West Virginia farmer who, faced with the prospect of starving to death on his unproductive land, packs up his family and moves to the so-called Promised Land of Florida. There he goes to work on what is euphemistically called a collective farm. But soon he finds himself surrounded in squalor and misery, working back-breaking hours for slave-labor wages. Paul Winfield, Jennifer Warren and Mitchell Ryan co-star in this made for TV movie, which debuted November 12, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
The Skid Row derelicts that occupy most of the screen time in this uneven drama about the effects of alcohol addiction do nothing to gain an audience's sympathy. Sam (Donald Moffat) has kicked his habit and picked himself up out of the gutter only to find that no avenues are open to take him away from the gutter. Then he learns that his friend C.G. (Ralph Waite, also the director) is in trouble. As one sequence of aimless, drunken behavior follows another and the audience is regaled by C.G.'s commentaries delivered in an alcoholic stupor, it is hard to understand why Sam is teetering on the brink of sloshing around in this world again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Waite, Donald Moffat, (more)
