This photo released by CBS shows Ralph Waite, as Jackson Gibbs, in an episode "The Namesake" from "NCIS," on Tuesdays, 8/7 CT on the CBS Television Network . Waite, 85, who played the father in TV's hit series "The Waltons," has died. Waite's manager, Alan Mills, says the actor died midday Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, in the Palm Springs area. (AP Photo/CBS, Cliff Lipson)