Ray Teal

Acting January 12, 1902 (74 years old) April 2, 1976 Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor. His most famous role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the television series Bonanza (1959–1972), which was only one of dozens of sheriffs on television and in movies that he played during his long and prolific career stretching from 1937 to 1970. He appeared in pictures such as Western Jamboree (1938) with Gene Autry, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) with Fredric March and Myrna Loy, The Black Arrow (1948), Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with Spencer Tracy and Burt Lancaster. Teal was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A saxophone player, he worked his way through the University of California, Los Angeles as a bandleader before becoming an actor. His longest-running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee, a law-enforcing sheriff on Bonanza. Teal was one of the most senior members of the crew having a permanent role. He had also played a sheriff in the Billy Wilder film Ace in the Hole (1951). Teal co-starred in numerous TV westerns throughout his career: he appeared five times on Cheyenne, four times on The Lone Ranger, on The Alaskans, three times in different roles on another long-running western series, Wagon Train, on NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo, on the ABC western series Broken Arrow, five times on the ABC western comedy Maverick, on the CBS western series The Texan, the NBC western series The Californians, twice on Colt .45, once on Wanted: Dead or Alive, and as "Sheriff Clay" for a single 1960 episode of the NBC western series Riverboat, and four times on a western series about the rodeo titled Wide Country. After more than 15 years performing in films and in early television, Teal secured a recurring role as a police officer in the 1953–1955 ABC sitcom with a variety-show theme, Where's Raymond?, later renamed The Ray Bolger Show. In 1955, Teal appeared as McCanles, a ruthless cattle baron in the episode "Julesburg" of the ABC/Warner Bros. Western series, Cheyenne. Altogether, Teal appeared five times on Cheyenne. He later appeared in a guest-starring role in another ABC/WB Western series, The Alaskans. From 1957 to 1962, Teal was cast three times in different roles on the Western series, Wagon Train. He also appeared in a number of episodes of Bat Masterson, an episode of The Rifleman and later in Green Acres. In 1957, Teal played a lawman, Captain McNelly, in the episode "Sam Bass" of NBC's Tales of Wells Fargo. Teal was cast as Fenster in "The Bounty Hunters" (1957) on the ABC Western series, Broken Arrow. In 1958, Teal guest-starred "No Tears for the Dead" on the CBS Western series, The Texan. He also later appeared in the CBS sitcom, Dennis the Menace. In 1960, Teal was cast as Sheriff Roy Coffee in Bonanza, a role he played until 1972, appearing in 98 episodes, occasionally as the lead character. He also portrayed judge/dentist/shoe repairman H.G. Cogswell in Bat Masterson starring Gene Barry. He died of undisclosed causes on April 2, 1976, at age 74 in Santa Monica, California. CLR

Ray Teal

Biography

Movies 206

The Best Years of Our Lives

Judgment at Nuremberg

Run for Cover

Ace in the Hole

Gun Crazy

Sergeant York

Chisum

One-Eyed Jacks

Winchester '73

The Asphalt Jungle

Brute Force

Inherit the Wind

They Died with Their Boots On

Bathing Beauty

The Wild One

Bullet for a Badman

The Desperate Hours

Shadow of the Thin Man

The Man from Colorado

The Man from Colorado

Dead Reckoning

Joan of Arc

The Clock

Decision at Sundown

Home from the Hill

Woman of the Year

Kitty Foyle

Distant Drums

Anchors Aweigh

Hollywood Canteen

The Long Night

The Princess and the Pirate

The Men

Ziegfeld Girl

My Favorite Brunette

Taggart

Honky Tonk

Captain Kidd

Along Came Jones

Gunman's Walk

The Guns of Fort Petticoat

Till the Clouds Roll By

Driftwood

The Sea of Grass

Madame Curie

Ambush at Tomahawk Gap

Desert Fury

The Harvey Girls

Along the Great Divide

The Wild North

The Green Hornet Strikes Again!

Band of Angels

No Way Out

Fingers at the Window

I Love You Again

The Secret of Convict Lake

Warpath

The Indian Fighter

Give Me a Sailor

Canyon Passage

The Miracle of the Bells

Saddle the Wind

Billy the Kid

Strange Cargo

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest

Back to Bataan

The Burning Hills

The Man from Bitter Ridge

The Command

Convicted

Northwest Passage

Posse from Hell

Ramrod

Deep Valley

Raw Deal

Edge of Doom

The Kid from Texas