Paul Teal, One Tree Hill Actor, Dead At 35
Another tragic detail about the "One Tree Hill" cast can now be added to the list: Paul Teal, who filmed seven episodes of the teen soap, died at 35 from cancer on November 15. His, fiancée, Emilia Torello, confirmed his death in a November 17 photo on Instagram of the couple during happier times and wrote a beautiful caption that included: "Paul, you were my soulmate, my soon-to-be-husband, my rock, and my future. You filled my lungs with laughter, my stomach with butterflies, and my heart with love." She then said part of her is gone now, too, but that she feels so lucky to have gotten to spend even a little bit of time with Teal. He'll always be in her heart.
Besides "One Tree Hill," which was canceled two years after Teal's run, he appeared on several TV shows, including "The Walking Dead: World Beyond," "Outer Banks," and "The Staircase." He even joined the number of "One Tree Hill" stars who made Hallmark movies with the 2020 film "USS Christmas." He was also involved in two upcoming projects: a short film called "1st Memory" and six episodes of a new series titled "The Hunting Wives."
His former co-star paid a heartbreaking tribute to him on Instagram
Paul Teal's "One Tree Hill" costar, Bethany Joy Lenz (who has many tragic details of her own), gave a beautiful eulogy for him on Instagram, though she and the late actor knew each other years before filming the CW series. They met when Teal was cast as Noah in Lenz's musical adaptation of "The Notebook" in 2006 — four years before Teal joined the cast of "One Tree Hill." Lenz remembers Teal as "shy and funny and so so comfortable on stage." Lenz then said she had to cast someone to play recurring character Josh in an episode she was directing and that's how Teal became part of the North Carolina-set show. "He was a joy to work with in any environment and so generous."
Lenz shared how they kept in touch, but not as much as she would have liked, something she regrets now. She posted a slideshow of photos from Teal's time doing "The Notebook," set to the sound of Teal singing his big solo, "Sunday Train."