Biography
Ray Elgin Teal (12 January 1902 – 2 April 1976) was an American actor. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he was a saxophone player who worked his way through the University of California, Los Angeles as a bandleader before entering acting. His career spanned from 1937 to 1974.
Teal appeared in more than 300 films and television programmes. He is known for playing Sheriff Roy Coffee on the series Bonanza (1960–1972) and for his role as the sheriff in Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole (1951). Other credits include The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and Inherit the Wind (1960). He frequently portrayed sheriffs and lawmen in westerns and other genres.
