Teague's mother worked in the motion picture industry during the silent movie era. At five years of age Teague appeared in five episodes of "Our Gang", playing the role of Dixie Duval, a girl. When he was six, he was seriously injured in a car accident near Pasadena, California, which was caused by a drunk driver. He lost several teeth, suffered a broken jaw, as well as sight in his right eye (leaving him without depth perception or stereoscopic vision), while his mother was left an invalid. A year later his father was killed in another automobile accident, also caused by a drunk driver.