Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
and
amateur boxer
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist.
History
...
. 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
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
. After release, he died in 1972 of heart failure.
Early years
Born in
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
, 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.
His great uncle was
John Drew, the noted thespian.
Neal and his sisters were raised in a spacious ten-room home in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. He attended
Lake Forest Academy and
Evanston Township High School
Evanston Township High School (ETHS) (District 202) is a public high school in Evanston, Illinois. The campus is located in a northern suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston a ...
before enrolling at
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
where he majored in
mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
.
[O'Dowd 2007 p. 148] During college, Neal played several sports and, for a time, competed in amateur boxing matches.
He was also a member of the
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...
fraternity and was active in the drama club.
[
]
Career
Neal dropped out of Northwestern after a year, and moved back to Chicago. He appeared in various stage productions in summer stock
In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock ...
before making his way to New York City in 1933.[ 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
Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
"Hardy family" movie series.
Neal appeared in many low budget B-movies in the 1940s/1950s. In 1941 he starred with Frances Gifford in the Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...
15-episode serial '' Jungle Girl.'' Perhaps his most memorable role was that of Al Roberts in the classic film noir
Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
'' Detour'' alongside Ann Savage. They went on to make five movies together.
Personal life
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".
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
Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish Mob in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have orga ...
. According to newspaper accounts, the engagement was broken off after the intervention of Neal's father.
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. Despite her engagement, Payton began seeing Neal again. 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. 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
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...
, for which he was hospitalized. After he recovered, Tone and Payton married on September 28, 1951. Payton left Tone after 53 days and returned to Neal. Tone filed for divorce in March 1952, citing Payton for adultery
Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...
. Neal and Payton announced their engagement in May 1953, but eventually ended their relationship later that year.
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. 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.''
Later years and death
After his much publicized fight with Franchot Tone, Neal was blacklisted in Hollywood, as was Payton. 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.[O'Dowd 2007 p. 242] 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.
With his acting career over, Neal moved to Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
, and became a gardener. He later started his own landscaping business. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
, a jury convicted Neal of involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
on November 18, 1965. 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
Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...
.[ 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.] His death was later attributed to heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
.[
]
Amateur boxing record
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
''Prophet Without Honor''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Tom
1914 births
1972 deaths
20th-century American criminals
20th-century American male actors
American male boxers
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American people convicted of manslaughter
American male television actors
Criminals from Los Angeles
Evanston Township High School alumni
Lake Forest Academy alumni
Male actors from Evanston, Illinois
Male actors from Los Angeles
Male actors from Palm Springs, California
Male Western (genre) film actors
Northwestern University alumni
Prisoners and detainees of California
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
20th-century American sportsmen