Tom Neal

Tom Neal
Ann Savage and Tom Neal in Detour (1945)
Born	Thomas Neal (1914-01-28)January 28, 1914 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(s)	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, having 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,^[1] and Neal was coached by Henry Lamar.

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.

Amateur Boxing Record^[1][2]

Amateur Boxing Record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
Loss	31-3-0	J.H. Isbell	KO	1934 Mar 31	2			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Loss	31-2-0	"Modest" Bill Smith	KO	1934 Feb 27	2			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	31-1-0	Frankie Hagen	KO	1934 Feb 24	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	30-1-0	Harry Gardner	KO	1934 Feb 21	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	29-1-0	Sid Stoneman	KO	1934 Feb 14	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	28-1-0	Frankie Hagan	PTS	1934 Jan 30	3			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	27-1-0	Basil Barnett	KO	1934 Jan 24	2			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	26-1-0	George Krause	KO	1934 Jan 16	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	25-1-0	Bob Delmont	KO	1934 Jan 07	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Loss	24-1-0	Brad Simmons	KO	1934 Jan 01	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	24-0-0	Herman Zeinman	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	23-0-0	William Beltran	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	22-0-0	Lloyd Blake	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	21-0-0	Lawrence "Larry" O'Neil	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	20-0-0	Igg Rosenberg	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	19-0-0	Melvin Kenyon	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	18-0-0	Gary Keers	KO	1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	17-0-0	Samuel Rodgway	KO	1933 May 28	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Exch	16-0-0	"Irish" Tommy Mitchell	KO	1933 May 21	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	15-0-0	Jim Crawford	KO	1933 May 14	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	14-0-0	Max Levine	KO	1933 May 7	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	13-0-0	Leo Hart	KO	1933 May 1	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	12-0-0	Paul Benjamin	PTS	1932	3			Evanston, Illinois
Win	11-0-0	Fred Chapman	KO	1932	3			Evanston, Illinois
Win	10-0-0	Paul Benjamin	KO	1932	3			Evanston, Illinois
Win	9-0-0	Rod Conley	KO	1932	2			Evanston, Illinois
Win	8-0-0	Paul Gilmore	KO	1932	1			Chicago, Illinois
Win	7-0-0	Jack Lewis	KO	1932	3			Chicago, Illinois
Exch	6-0-0	Eddie Mitchell	KO	1932	1			Chicago, Illinois
Win	5-0-0	Ernest Brant	KO	1932	1			Chicago, Illinois
Win	4-0-0	Karl Brenner-Eggers	KO	1932	1			Chicago, Illinois
Win	3-0-0	Norman Martin	PTS	1932	3			Chicago, Illinois
Win	2-0-0	Albert Leikman	KO	1932	1			Chicago, Illinois
Win	1-0-0	Keith Newman	KO	1932	1			Chicago, Illinois

Personal life and death

In 1951, he fought fellow actor Franchot Tone over their mutual girlfriend, actress Barbara Payton.^[3] 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.^[3]

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 son appeared in one film: playing the role of Al Roberts in a 1992 independent remake of Detour.

Selected filmography

References

External links

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