Skip to the content
Person

Ray Teal

Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor who appeared in more than 300 television shows and movies during his 40 year career. 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.

Also recorded as Рей Елгін Тіл · Ray Elgin Teal

Ray Teal

Larry Duran, Marlon Brando and Ray Teal in One-Eyed Jacks (1961).

Film screenshot (Paramount Pictures) · One-Eyed Jacks film (DVD) · Public domain

Name
Ray Teal
Birth Name
Ray Elgin Teal
Born
12 January 1902
Birthplace
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Died
2 April 1976
Place of death
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Education
University of California
Occupation
Actor
Spouse
Louise Laraway

VALÉORINE Encyclopedia

VALÉORINE documentary reading

Documentary summary

Ray Elgin Teal (January 12, 1902 – April 2, 1976) was an American actor who appeared in more than 300 television shows and movies during his 40 year career. 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.

Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE

Reference Check

Propose documentary evidence for Ray Teal. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.

Sign in to contribute

World of VALÉORINE

Documentary connections

Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.

Documentary evidence

Documentary basis

Authority files

wikidata · Q3420566 · wikipedia · Ray Teal

In this article

  1. 01Biography
  2. 02Archives and collections
  3. 03Notes, references and evidence

The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.

Elsewhere in Film memorabilia

For owners

Own a work by Ray Teal?

A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.