Ray Teal

A legendary character actor with a career spanning four decades, Ray Teal becomes the unlikely heart of *Bonanza* as the steadfast Sheriff Roy Coffee, balancing small-town justice with the wild spirit of the American West.

Born

1902

Died

1976

Credits on file

Decades active

In short · Acted for nine decades — 68 credits.

Remembered for

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Biography

Ray Elgin Teal was an American actor with a career spanning film and television from 1937 to 1970, during which he appeared in over 300 shows and movies. He is best known for his role as Sheriff Roy Coffee on the television series *Bonanza* (1959–1972), one of several law enforcement characters he portrayed. Teal appeared in a range of films, including *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.

Filmography · 68 of 68

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