Born in Los Angeles, California, Waters received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939 and was in the United States Army Infantry during World War II, from 1942 to 1945, achieving the rank of captain.

[1] A statue of him was erected in a French town his troops liberated, and he was mentioned in Stephen Ambrose's Citizen Soldiers.

[2] He was a deputy attorney general of the State of California from 1946 to 1947, receiving a Juris Doctor from the USC Gould School of Law in 1947.

[3] He was United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1953 to 1961, returning to private practice in Los Angeles from 1961 to 1976.

[1] He assumed senior status on July 6, 1986, serving in that capacity until his death on June 3, 2002, in Los Angeles.