Tom Neal

Tom Neal
Neal in 1951
Born	Thomas Carroll Neal, Jr.[1] (1914-01-28)January 28, 1914 Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 7, 1972(1972-08-07) (aged 58) North Hollywood, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1935–1959
Spouses	Vicky Lane ​ ​ (m. 1948; div. 1949)​ Patricia Fenton ​ ​ (m. 1956; died 1958)​ Gale Bennett ​ ​ (m. 1960; died 1965)​
Children	1

Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Between 1932 and 1934, he was an amateur boxer who fought in many fights. As an actor, he was best known for his co-starring role in the critically lauded film Detour, for having a widely publicized affair with actress Barbara Payton. In 1965, his wife was found shot dead, and he was later convicted and imprisoned for involuntary manslaughter. After release, he died in 1972 of heart failure.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Neal was one of three children born to banker Thomas, Sr. and Mayme Neal (née Martin). He had two older sisters, Mary Elizabeth and Dorothy Helen.^[1] His great uncle was John Drew, the noted thespian.^[2] Neal and his sisters were raised in a spacious ten-room home in Chicago. He attended Lake Forest Academy and Evanston Township High School before enrolling at Northwestern University where he majored in mathematics.^[3] During college, Neal played several sports and, for a time, competed in amateur boxing matches.^[2] He was also a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and was active in the drama club.^[3]

Neal dropped out of Northwestern after a year, and moved back to Chicago. He appeared in various stage productions in summer stock before making his way to New York City in 1933.^[3] Neal made his Broadway debut in 1935. In 1938, he first appeared in film in Out West with the Hardys, part of the Mickey Rooney "Hardy family" movie series.^{[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.^{[citation needed]}

Neal was married three times and had one child. His first marriage was to actress and singer Vicky Lane whom he married in 1948. Lane divorced Neal in 1949, citing "mental and physical cruelty".^[4]

In 1935, at the age of 21, Neal made headlines for announcing his engagement to marry 32-year-old Inez Norton, the ex-Follies girl and former girlfriend of slain gangster Arnold Rothstein. According to newspaper accounts, the engagement was broken off after the intervention of Neal's father.^[5]

In the early 1950s, Neal met actress Barbara Payton at a party. The two began dating, but Payton ended the relationship after meeting and becoming engaged to actor Franchot Tone.^[6] Despite her engagement, Payton began seeing Neal again.^[7] On September 14, 1951, Neal, Payton, and Tone made headlines after Neal got into a physical altercation with Tone over Payton in her front yard.^[8][9] Neal beat Tone severely while Payton reportedly watched the fight. Tone suffered severe injuries, including a smashed cheekbone, a broken nose, and a brain concussion, for which he was hospitalized.^[10] After he recovered, Tone and Payton married on September 28, 1951.^[7] Payton left Tone after 53 days and returned to Neal.^[11] Tone filed for divorce in March 1952, citing Payton for adultery.^[12] Neal and Payton announced their engagement in May 1953, but eventually ended their relationship later that year.^[13]

Shortly after their breakup, Neal married Patricia Fenton. His only child, Patrick Thomas Neal, was born in 1957. Fenton died the following year from cancer.^[14] In 1992, Patrick Neal (who goes by the name Tom Neal, Jr.) appeared in one film, playing the role of Al Roberts in a 1992 independent remake of Detour.^[15][16]

After his much publicized fight with Franchot Tone, Neal was blacklisted in Hollywood, as was Payton.^[11] He acted sporadically but became more known for his tumultuous on-and-off relationship with Payton. Neal and Payton attempted to capitalize on the interest in their relationship by starring together in the low-budget Western The Great Jesse James Raid in 1953. The film did reasonably well but did nothing to revitalize the couple's careers.^[17] In June 1953, Neal and Payton accepted an offer to star in the touring production of The Postman Always Rings Twice. Their performances were largely panned and the tour ended in September 1953. Neal and Payton broke up for the final time in November 1953.^[17]

With his acting career over, Neal moved to Palm Springs, California, and became a gardener.^[18] He later started his own landscaping business.^[11][19] In 1961, Neal married receptionist Gail Bennett in Las Vegas. On April 2, 1965, police were summoned to the couple's Palm Springs home by Neal's attorney.^[20] They discovered Bennett's body on the couch, partially covered by a blanket, with a gunshot wound in the back of her head. It was later determined that Bennett had been shot with a .45 caliber gun on April 1.^[21] Neal, who was not at the home when police arrived, became an immediate suspect. He surrendered to police on April 3 and was indicted on one charge of murder on April 10.^[22][23]

At his trial, Neal admitted that he and Bennett were separated at the time of her death but said that her death was accidental. He testified that on April 1, he had returned to the couple's Palm Springs home from Chicago, where he had been living, to see if a reconciliation was possible.^[24] Neal said the two began fighting after he accused Bennett of sleeping with other men. He claimed that Bennett pulled out a gun and held it to his head, and the two began to struggle. During the ensuing struggle, Neal said that the gun accidentally discharged, killing Bennett. Although prosecutors sought the death penalty, a jury convicted Neal of involuntary manslaughter on November 18, 1965.^[25] On December 10, he was sentenced to one-to-fifteen years in prison, of which he served six. On December 6, 1971, he was released on parole.^[8][26] After his release, Neal went back to working as a landscaper and gardener.

On August 7, 1972, Neal was found dead in his bed by his son at his home in North Hollywood, California.^[27] His death was later attributed to heart failure.^[14]

Amateur Boxing Record^[28]

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Date	Round	Time	Event	Location	Notes
Loss	31-3-0	J.H. Isbell	KO	March 31, 1934	2			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Loss	31-2-0	"Modest" Bill Smith	KO	February 27, 1934	2			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	31-1-0	Frankie Hagen	KO	February 24, 1934	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	30-1-0	Harry Gardner	KO	February 21, 1934	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	29-1-0	Sid Stoneman	KO	February 14, 1934	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	28-1-0	Frankie Hagan	PTS	January 30, 1934	3			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	27-1-0	Basil Barnett	KO	January 24, 1934	2			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	26-1-0	George Krause	KO	January 16, 1934	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	25-1-0	Bob Delmont	KO	January 7, 1934	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Loss	24-1-0	Brad Simmons	KO	January 1, 1934	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	May 28, 1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Exch	16-0-0	"Irish" Tommy Mitchell	KO	May 21, 1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	15-0-0	Jim Crawford	KO	May 14, 1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	14-0-0	Max Levine	KO	May 7, 1933	1			Cambridge, Massachusetts
Win	13-0-0	Leo Hart	KO	May 1, 1933	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

• Tom Neal at IMDb
• Tom Neal at the Internet Broadway Database
• Prophet Without Honor