The Waite is Over

Or

Goodnight, Pa

(Meritorious mention for Monty)

Ralph Waite, the only man who got bitch-slapped by Mary Bono more than Sonny, has died of old age at 85. Best remembered as John Walton Sr., harbinger of American values as patriarch of The Waltons, Waite parlayed that rep into more recent recurring TV stints as equally stolid characters like Jethro Gibbs’ father on NCIS and Booth’s grandfather on Bones, and guest spots on many others. His bedrock American values didn’t resonate with godless free-spending Democrats, as he lost a bid for Congress in 1990, then after Sonny Bono’s death, Waite sought his seat in a special election and then the general election, both in 1998, losing handily to Bono’s widow in both elections.