Joseph Edwin Neal Jr. (born July 12, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the hitchhiker in ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...

'' and has been a voice talent, appearing on screen and off, including three voices in

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

's '' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'' and three voices in the ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game was initiall ...

'' game; those of

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). He has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring e ...

, Killer Croc, and Harvey Bullock. Neal set a record of doing 26 different voices in the only completely unedited version of all 103 episodes of ''

Gatchaman is a Japanese animated media franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gat ...

'' ('' Battle of the Planets''), which included the lead villain Berg Katse.

Early life and career

Neal, after high school, studied at Lon Morris College in

Jacksonville, Texas Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,997 at the 2020 U.S. census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Cherokee County. Ja ...

. While there, he auditioned for the role of the Hitchhiker in ''

'', and got it. He has said that, when auditioning, he acted as an eccentric relative of his. The movie gained major popularity over the years and went on to become a cult classic Neal still continues to act. His most notable roles since ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' were playing the Mercer interrogator in

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...

's ''

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

'', and one of Big Chuck's Henchmen in the 1993 movie '' My Boyfriend's Back''. He has also done voice work, for films, games, and cartoons. Neal annually tours worldwide making many public appearances as "The Hitchhiker" at horror conventions and related gatherings.

Honors

Neal was inducted into the "Hollywood Horror Hall of Fame" in 1993 alongside

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

, and owns one of the world's largest movie poster collections, from the year

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

to the present day. He received a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for Valor during his

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

in 1969.

Filmography

Film

* ''

'' (1974) - Nubbins Sawyer * ''

Future-Kill ''Future-Kill'' (released in the UK as ''Night of the Alien'') is a 1985 comedy science fiction-horror film about a group of fraternity boys who are hunted by mutants in a futuristic city. The film was directed by Ronald W. Moore, and stars Edwi ...

'' (1985) - Splatter * '' My Two Loves'' (1986) - Telephone Man * ''Good Girl, Bad Girl'' (1990) - Nolan * ''

'' (1991) - Mercer * '' My Boyfriend's Back'' (1993) - Big Chuck's Henchman * '' The American Nightmare'' (2000) - self * '' Mr Hell'' (2001) - Freemont * ''The M.O. Of M.I.'' (2002) - Bill * '' Zombiegeddon'' (2003) - God * '' Murder-Set-Pieces'' (2004) - Good Samaritan * ''Mr. Hell'' (2005) - Toxic Waste Worker * '' Satan's Playground'' (2006) - Boy * '' The Man Who Came Back'' (2007) - Ugly guard * ''It Came from Trafalgar'' (2008) - Chester * ''Holy Hell'' (2009) - Bolton * ''Dropping Evil'' (2012) - President Strode * ''Butcher Boys'' (2013) - Freddy * ''Kill or Be Killed'' (2014) - Bargsley * ''The Best Laid Plans'' (2019) - Jimmy

Anime

*''

Blade of the Phantom Master /() is a South Korean-Japanese manga series created by Youn In-wan and illustrated by Yang Kyung-il. The story takes place in a world reminiscent of ancient Korea, and follows the Korean-folktale-inspired adventures of Munsu, one of the few ...

'' *'' Final Fantasy: Unlimited'' - Pist Shaz *''

'' - Berg Katse (ADV dub) *''Gatchaman: The Movie'' - Berg Katse (BTVA Award for Best male supporting vocal performance in an anime movie/special.) *''

GetBackers is a Japanese manga series written by Yuya Aoki and illustrated by Rando Ayamine. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from March 1999 to February 2007, with its chapters collected in 39 volumes. Th ...

'' - Mr. Sasakida *''

Getter Robo Armageddon ''Getter Robo Armageddon'', known in Japan as , is an original video animation, OVA released between August 25, 1998 to May 25, 1999 by Bandai Visual and was animated by Brain's Base and Studio OX. The OVA is based on the manga and anime seri ...

'' - Gai *'' Happy Lesson'' - Tanuki *'' Jing: King of Bandits'' - Emcee *'' Lost Universe'' - Drunk, Barker, Superintendent General, Roy Glen *''

Mazinger is a long-running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha created by Go Nagai in 1972. It introduced the concept of mecha as robots which are ridden by humans and controlled like vehicles to Japanese science fiction (previous ...

'' - Professor Morimori, Nuke *'' Moeyo Ken TV'' - Nekomaru *'' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'' , , Jean's Uncle, Newspaper Editor *'' Ninja Resurrection'' - Souiken Mori *''

Sakura Wars is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and owned by Sega. It is focused around a series of cross-genre video games. The first game in the series was released in 1996, with five sequels and numerous spin-off titles bein ...

'' - Financier, Gojii *'' Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie'' - Dr. Robotnik, President, Metal Robotnik *'' Soul Hunter'' - Lisei *''

Steam Detectives is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kia Asamiya. The manga was originally serialized in ''Monthly Shōnen Jump'' and later moved to ''Ultra Jump'' at the magazines start. It was later adapted into a 26-episode anime televi ...

'' - Dr. Guilty *''

Wedding Peach is a Japanese '' shōjo'' manga written by Sukehiro Tomita and illustrated by Nao Yazawa that was originally serialized in Shogakukan's ''Ciao'' magazine. In North America, it was translated and published by VIZ Media in its entirety, c ...

'' - Jamapon *'' Zaion: I Wish You Were Here'' - Dr. Domeki

Video games

Voice Work

* ''Love Lost In a Boat'' (2009) - Narrator

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Edwin Living people American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American military personnel of the Vietnam War American people of Irish descent Lon Morris College alumni Male actors from Texas 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 1945 births