Tom Neal

Tom Neal
Ann Savage and Tom Neal in Detour (1945)
Born	Thomas Neal January 28, 1914(1914-01-28) Evanston, Illinois, United States
Died	August 7, 1972(1972-08-07) (aged 58) North Hollywood, California, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1938-1959
Spouse	Vicky Lane (1948 - 1950) Patricia Fenton (1956 - 1958) Gale Bennett (1960 - April 2, 1965)

Thomas Neal (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor best known for appearing in the critically lauded film Detour, a tryst with Barbara Payton and later committing manslaughter.

Career

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Neal debuted on Broadway in 1935. In 1938 he first appeared in film in Out West with the Hardys, part of the Mickey Rooney "Hardy family" movie series. That same year, he received a law degree from Harvard University. While in college at Northwestern and Harvard Universities, Neal was a stand-out on the schools' boxing teams. He compiled a 44-3 (41 knockouts) ring record.^{[citation needed]}

Neal appeared in many low budget B-movies in the 1940s/1950s. In 1941 he starred with Frances Gifford in the Republic Pictures 15 episode serial, Jungle Girl. Perhaps his most memorable role was that of Al Roberts in the classic film noir Detour alongside Ann Savage. They went on to make five movies together.

Personal life and death

In 1951, he fought fellow actor Franchot Tone over their mutual girlfriend, actress Barbara Payton. Neal inflicted upon Tone a smashed cheekbone, a broken nose and a brain concussion. After the incident, Tone and Payton married, and Neal had a difficult time finding work. He ended up supporting himself landscaping and gardening. Payton left Tone after only seven weeks and returned to the troubled Neal. Their relationship lasted four years.^{[citation needed]}

Neal remarried almost immediately and in 1957 fathered a son, Tom Neal, Jr. His wife died the following year from cancer. In 1961, Neal married for the third time, to Gale Bennett. Four years later, he shot her in the back of the head with a .45-caliber gun, killing her instantly. He was arrested and, although prosecutors sought the death penalty, he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison, of which he served six years. On December 6, 1971, he was released on parole.

Less than a year later, Neal died of heart failure in North Hollywood, California at the age of 58 on August 7, 1972. He was cremated, and his ashes stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles. His aforementioned son appeared in one film: playing the role of Al Roberts in a 1992 independent remake of Detour.

Selected filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1938	Out West with the Hardys	Aldrich Brown
1939	Another Thin Man	Freddie Coleman
1939	Within the Law	Richard Gilder
1939	Prophet Without Honor	Uncredited	Short
1940	The Courageous Dr. Christian	Dave Williams
1941	Under Age
1941	Jungle Girl	Jack Stanton	Alternative title: Edgar Rice Burrough's Jungle Girl
1942	Bowery at Midnight	Frankie Mills
1943	She Has What It Takes	Roger Rutledge
1943	Behind the Rising Sun	Taro Seki
1944	Two-Man Submarine	Jerry Evans
1945	Detour	Al Roberts (Male lead)	Acclaimed film noir
1945	Crime, Inc.	Jim Riley	Alternative title: Crime Incorporated
1945	First Yank Into Tokyo	Major Steve Ross
1946	The Brute Man	Clifford Scott	Alternative title: The Brute
1947	The Case of the Baby Sitter	Russ Ashton
1948	Beyond Glory	Captain Henry Jason Daniels
1949	Bruce Gentry	Bruce Gentry	Alternative titles: Daredevil of the Skies Bruce Gentry, Daredevil of the Skies
1950	I Shot Billy the Kid	Charley Bowdry
1951	Navy Bound	Joe Morelli
1953	The Great Jesse James Raid	Arch Clements
1958	The Last Hurrah	Tom - Mourner at Wake	Uncredited
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Gene Autry Show	Breezy Buck	2 episodes
1951	Racket Squad		1 episode
	Boston Blackie		2 episodes
1952	The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok	Corby	1 episode
1958	Tales of Wells Fargo	Johnny Reno	1 episode
1959	Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer	Luke Lund	1 episode

External links

• Tom Neal at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Neal at the Internet Broadway Database
• Tom Neal at Find a Grave