Teal Ray

Ray Teal was born on January 12, 1902 in Grand Rapids , Michigan. ^[1] In the 1920s, Thiel studied at the University of California at Los Angeles , where he played saxophone in a university ensemble, and later played in several performances at the Pasadena Theater ^[1] . After completing his studies and until 1936, Teal remained in the world of music, he toured the South USA at the head of his own ensemble, and also worked as an entertainer in theaters in New York , Los Angeles and Toronto ^{[1] [2] [3]} .

Teal was not going to become a film actor, having received his first role when he was already more than 30 years old ^[3] . In 1937 he was invited to play the head of the orchestra in the musical comedy The Favorite of the Fleet (1937), and in 1938 he played a full-fledged role (with a name in the credits) in the low-budget western Western Celebration (1938) with Gene Autry ^{[1] [2]} .

In the 1940s, Teal appeared in several highly acclaimed films, including the melodrama Kitty Foyle (1940) with Ginger Rogers , the drama Strange Cargo (1940) with Joan Crawford and Clark Gable , the biopic Peak Sergeant York (1941) with Gary Cooper , the romantic comedy Woman of the Year (1942) with Spencer Tracy and Catherine Hepburn , as well as the melodrama The Best Years of Our Life (1946) with Frederick March and Mirnaya Loy ^[1] . Teal is also remembered for the role of Little John in the adventure film about Robin Hood "The Robber and the Queen " (1946) ^[3] .

According to film critic Hal Erickson, “although Teal later went through a variety of episodic roles of cops, taxi drivers and lascivious men, he was most confident in westerns” ^[2] . Since 1940, Teal has played in more than 80 westerns, including Pony Express (1940), Cherokee Lug (1940), Northwest Passage (1940), Wild Bill Hancock in the Saddle ( 1942), The Path of the Apaches (1942), Canyon Passage (1946), Ramrod (1947), Cheyenne (1947), Whispering Smith (1948), Laredo Streets (1949), Winchester 73 "(1950)," Behind Enemy Lines "(1950)," Red Sands "(1951)," Secret of the Convicts Lake "(1951)," Hangman’s Noose "(1952)," Ambush at Tomahawk Gap "(1953) " at the shelter " (1955), " Ambush Apache " (1955), " The Man from Oklahoma " (1957), " The Clash at Sandown " (1957), " Ride the vet p "(1958)," drover "(1963) and his latest film" Chizam "(1970) ^[1] .

In addition to Westerns, Thiel played in 33 films noir, among them such recognized films as “The Trap ” (1946), “ Brute Force ” (1947), “The High Wall ” (1947), “ Calculate After Death ” (1947), “ I I would not want to be in your shoes ”(1948),“ Dirty Deal ”(1948),“ Roadside establishment ”(1948),“ Crime scene ”(1949),“ Asphalt Jungle ”(1950),“ There is no way out ”(1950 ), “ Edge of Doom ” (1950), “ Southside 1-1000 ” (1950), “ Crazy about Weapons ” (1950), “ Quicksand ” (1950), “ Where Danger Lives ” (1950), “ Ace in sleeve "(1951)," City in Captivity "(1952)," Turning Point "(1952) and" Police Officer the cheater ”(1954) ^[1] . As movie historian Karen Hannsberry writes, “With the exception of rare appearances in the roles of prisoners or prison guards, Thiel played cops in virtually all other films.” In her opinion, the film “Ace up the sleeve” stands out among Tyl’s noir works, where he played a corrupt sheriff who makes a deal with an unprincipled newspaper reporter ( Kirk Douglas ), as a result of which, for their own benefit, they bring to death a person who is stuck in a cave ^{[1 ]} .

In the 1950s, Thiel played in the drama Sister Kerry (1952) based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser with Jennifer Jones and Laurence Olivier ^[1] , and was also remembered in the drama Savage (1953) with Marlon Brando , where he played the owner of a cafe in a small town that kindly hosts a group of wild bikers . Also of significant interest to Thiel were the touching melodrama " About Mrs. Leslie " (1954) and the judicial drama on the social theme " Reaping the Storm " (1960) with Spencer Tracy and Frederick March ^[1] . According to Erickson, Thill played the most memorable role of this period in a powerful post-war drama with the star cast “The Nuremberg Trials ” (1961), where he appeared as “the only member of the team of American lawyers who sympathizes with the Nazi war criminals and the only one in this team who openly dislikes American liberals ” ^{[2] [3]} . The last vivid film by Thiel was the popular anti-racist drama “The Liberation of L. B. Jones ” (1970), where he played “the characteristic role of a rude village peasant” ^{[1] [2]} .

As noted by Hannsberry, in most films the roles of Thiel were small or episodic, and often his name was not even indicated in the credits. However, the actor claimed to be satisfied with the path that his career received ^[1] . He said: “Often I am left without a name. Sometimes I wear beards and wigs, sometimes not - but I have a face that no one recognizes and no one remembers. This is my property. I am safe in my work for as long as they will not recognize me ” ^[4] .

In addition to working in films, in the 1950s, Teal began to appear regularly on television. In particular, he could be seen in the Lone Ranger western series (1950-55, 4 episodes), Cheyenne (1955-62, 5 episodes), The Border (1955), The Broken Arrow (1956- 57, 2 episodes), “Wells Fargo Stories” (1957-59, 3 episodes) “Maverick” (1957-62, 5 episodes), “Caravan of Wagons” (1957-62, 3 episodes), “ Haze from the trunk ” (1958), “Texan” (1958), “Restless Arms” (1958), “Californians” (1958, 2 episodes), “Laramie” (1959), “Shooter” (1959), “ Bet Masterson ” (1959- 60, 2 episodes) and Colt 45 (1959-60, 2 episodes). In the 1960s, Teal also played in Westerns such as River Boat (1960), Empire (1962), Wide Land (1962-63, 4 episodes) and Rawhide (1961-63, 2 episodes) ^[4] .

In addition to Westerns, Thiel played in such significant series as Crossroads (1955-57, 3 episodes), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-61, 8 episodes), Lessi (1956-71, 13 episodes), Twilight zone ”(1963),“ Perry Mason ”(1963),“ I dream of Ginny ”(1966) and“ Green Open spaces ”(1966) ^[4] .

According to most film historians, the most significant role of Teal on television and in general in his career was the role of “sometimes a weak, but basically decent Sheriff Coffey,” which he played in 12 episodes of 98 episodes of the classic Western series “Bonanza” (1960- 72) ^{[2] [3] [1]} .

In 1974, Thiel last played on television, playing the role of a judge in the Western " Hanged Man " (1974) ^{[4] [3]} .

According to Hal Erickson, Ray Teal “had one of the most evil faces in the cinema,” thanks to which he “spent most of his film career leading the lynching crowds, recruiting hatred and exterminating the Indians” ^[2] . As noted in the actor’s biography on the Turner Classic Movies website, Teal “was not a big star, but was able to work fruitfully as an unsmiling character actor” ^[3] . During his 40-year career, Thiel played everything from cops and shooters to sheriffs and gangsters, as well as judges. “He could play a good grandfather in one film and a ruthless sadist killer in the next, and both characters were absolutely convincing” ^[5] .

In addition to the television series Bonanza , in which Teal played his most famous role, he appeared in more than 300 films and television programs, including classic films such as “ The Best Years of Our Life ” (1946), “ Reaping the Storm ” (1960) and The Nuremberg Trials (1961) ^[3] . As noted on the Internet Movie Database website, he played in Westerns, crime dramas, costume epics, war films, played a small but memorable role as an anti-Semitic chatterbox, which Dan Andrews pushes to a storefront, in the film “ The Best Years of Our Life ” (1946 ), and the larger and more memorable role of one of the fellow judges of Spencer Tracy in the Nuremberg Trials (1961) ^[5] .

Paradoxically, despite the fact that he often played low and disgusting types, by all accounts, Til was a very nice and friendly person ^{[3] [2]} .

Ray Teal died on April 2, 1976 in Santa Monica after a long illness. He was 74 years old ^[4] .

• Karen Burroughs Hannsberry. Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir . - Jefferson, North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2003. - ISBN 978-0-7864-3739-9 .

• Ray Teal at IMDb
• Ray Teal on AllMovie
• Ray Teal at Turner Classic Movies