# Ray Teal
**Ray Teal** (Ray Elgin Teal; January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American character actor whose nearly 40-year career ran from bit parts in late-1930s Westerns to more than 250 films and dozens of television programs, and who is best remembered as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the long-running Western series *Bonanza*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [2](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | January 12, 1902, Grand Rapids, Michigan; April 2, 1976, Santa Monica, California, of natural causes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) |
| Signature role | Sheriff Roy Coffee on *Bonanza*, 1960–1972, credited with 99 episodes by IMDb; other sources give 98[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [3](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2149127/biographies) |
| Career scale | The AFI Catalog lists 224 titles in his filmography; IMDb credits him with 347 acting appearances[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/128017) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) |
| Before acting | Saxophone player who worked his way through UCLA in local bands; formed his own band there in the 1920s and led it until 1936[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) |
| Notable films | *Ace in the Hole* (1951, Sheriff Gus Kretzer), *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946, Mr. Mollett), *Inherit the Wind* (1960, Jessie H. Dunlap), *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1961, Judge Curtiss Ives)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) |
| Marriage | Laraway Louise, 1926 until his death in 1976; buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City[5](https://www.nndb.com/people/299/000349249/) |
## Early life and music career
Teal was a native of [Grand Rapids, Michigan](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-rapids-michigan). He was a musician who worked his way through college playing saxophone in local bands, and at UCLA in the 1920s he formed his own band and led it until 1936.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) Acting was not his original ambition; he did not land his first role until his mid-30s.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ray_teal)
## Film career
Teal appeared in several films in minor bit parts before winning a somewhat more substantial part in *Western Jamboree* (1938), and a bigger part the next year as one of [Rogers' Rangers](https://www.edgepedia.org/rogers-rangers) in the [Spencer Tracy](https://www.edgepedia.org/spencer-tracy) adventure *Northwest Passage* (1940).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) The AFI Catalog's entry for *Western Jamboree* credits him as McCall.[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/128017)
Through the 1940s and 1950s he worked steadily across serials, Westerns, crime dramas, costume epics, and war pictures. He played [Little John](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-john) in *The Bandit of Sherwood Forest* (1946), had a small but memorable part as an anti-Semitic blowhard knocked into a store display by [Dana Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/dana-andrews) in *The Best Years of Our Lives* (1946), and played Sheriff Gus Kretzer in [Billy Wilder](https://www.edgepedia.org/billy-wilder)'s *Ace in the Hole* (1951).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [2](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/) His later prominent screen roles included Jessie H. Dunlap in *Inherit the Wind* (1960), Dr. Reuben Carson in *Home from the Hill* (1960), Barney in *One-Eyed Jacks* (1961), and Judge Curtiss Ives, one of Spencer Tracy's fellow judges, in *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1961).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [7](https://www.fandango.com/people/ray-teal-664764/film-credits) His last major theatrical films were *Chisum* and *The Liberation of L.B. Jones*, both 1970, in which he played Justice J.B. Wilson and the Chief of Police respectively.[7](https://www.fandango.com/people/ray-teal-664764/film-credits)
Contemporaries described him as one of the most versatile character actors in the business, playing everything from cops to gunfighters to sheriffs to gangsters, and equally believable as a kindly grandfather in one film and a heartless killer in the next.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) Rotten Tomatoes' profile notes the contrast between a career of mean-spirited roles and a man who was, by all accounts, very nice.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ray_teal)
## Television
Teal made many television appearances, from *The Lone Ranger* (1949) to *Green Acres* (1965).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) After more than 15 years in films and early television he secured a recurring role as a police officer on the 1953–1955 ABC sitcom *Where's Raymond?*, later renamed *The Ray Bolger Show*.[2](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/) He guest-starred repeatedly across the television Westerns of the era: five times on *Cheyenne*, four times on *The Lone Ranger*, three times in different roles on *Wagon Train*, five times on *Maverick*, and on *The Alaskans*, *Tales of Wells Fargo*, *Broken Arrow*, *The Texan*, *The Californians*, *Colt .45*, *Wanted: Dead or Alive*, *Riverboat*, and *The Wide Country*.[2](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/)
His longest-running role was Sheriff Roy Coffee on NBC's *Bonanza*, which he played from 1960 to 1972. IMDb credits him with 99 episodes; the El Cinema biography and [Letterboxd](https://www.edgepedia.org/letterboxd) give 98.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [3](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2149127/biographies) • [2](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/) He was one of the most senior members of the *Bonanza* company holding a permanent role, and occasionally played the lead character in an episode.[2](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/) His other recurring television work included Sheriff Snead and other roles in 13 episodes of *The Magical World of Disney* (1960–1971) and Jim Teal on *Lassie*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [5](https://www.nndb.com/people/299/000349249/)
## Later years and death
Teal retired in 1974, with his final screen appearance as Judge Homer Bayne in the television movie *The Hanged Man* (1974).[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ray_teal) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) He died of natural causes on April 2, 1976, at age 74 in [Santa Monica, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-monica-california), and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/) • [5](https://www.nndb.com/people/299/000349249/)
## References
1. [Ray Teal, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0853576/)
2. [Films starring Ray Teal, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/actor/ray-teal/)
3. [Biographies: Ray Teal – Actor, El Cinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2149127/biographies)
4. [Ray Teal, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/128017)
5. [Ray Teal, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/299/000349249/)
6. [Ray Teal, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ray_teal)
7. [Ray Teal Filmography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/ray-teal-664764/film-credits)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, early era*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license