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 (S2 E6 "Eddie's Daughter" as Albie Finley in 1959) 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. On the Warner Bros. series
Maverick starring
James Garner and
Jack Kelly, Teal played a crooked sheriff in the episode "
The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick" (1958) and also starred as villains in the episodes "Stage West" (1957) based on a story by
Louis L'amour and "Two Beggars on Horseback" (1958). 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. Teal appeared twice in another ABC/WB Western,
Colt .45, playing Mike O'Tara in the series finale, "The Trespassers" (1960). In 1960, he was cast as Sheriff Clay in the episode "Zigzag" of the NBC Western series
Riverboat. In 1962, Teal portrayed Mr. Todd in the episode entitled "The Tall Shadow" of the NBC modern Western drama,
Empire. That same year, he was cast as Sam Thorpe in the episode "Step Forward" of the NBC police drama
87th Precinct. He portrayed, in 1962, the character Alvin Greaves in "Unwanted: Dead or Alive" of the syndicated adventure series
The Everglades. In 1962 and 1963, he was cast four times, three as the character Frank Higgins, on the Western series about the rodeo,
Wide Country. In 1963, Teal appeared as murder victim Joe Downing in the CBS courtroom drama series
Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Shifty Shoebox". Teal was a
bit-part player in Western films for several years before landing a minor role in
Northwest Passage (1940). Another of his roles was as
Little John in
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946). Notable film roles include playing one of the judges in
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with
Spencer Tracy and an indulgent bar owner to
Marlon Brando's motorcycle gang in
The Wild One (1953). This was the second of three times that Teal appeared with Brando, having done so already as a drunk in Brando's debut in
The Men (1950) and later in Brando's only directorial effort,
One-Eyed Jacks (1961), as a bartender. Teal appeared in three episodes of the 1955–1957
anthology series,
Crossroads, a study of
clergymen from different denominations. ==Death==