Tom Neal

Tom Neal U.S.A. actor Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Neal was one of three children born to banker Thomas, Sr. and Mayme Neal (née Martin).

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

. He attended Lake Forest Academy and Evanston Township High School before enrolling at Northwestern University where he majored in mathematics. During college, Neal played several sports and, for a time, competed in amateur boxing matches.He was also a member the Sigma Chi fraternity and was active in the drama club. 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. 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. 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
Neal was married three times and had one child. His first marriage was to actress and singer Vicky Lane whom he married in 1944. Lane divorced Neal in 1949 citing "mental and physical cruelty." 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 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 with adultery. Neal and Payton announced their engagement in May 1953 but eventually ended their relationship later that year.[12]

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. 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, and became a gardener. He later started his own landscaping business. In 1961, Neal married receptionist Gale 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 were possible. Neal said the two began fighting after he accused Bennett of sleeping with other men. He claimed that Bennett pulled out a gun, 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.[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. 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. He was cremated, and his ashes were interred in the Chapel Of The Pines Cemetery

(@ wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neal )

07/03/2023

Movie Critique - Detour Stars: 5 / 5 Recommendation: An unfortunate accident makes a detour in our central character's life creating chaos, hatred and fear at every turn. A classic noir that came out of miniscule budget. Detour is a 1945 American film noir directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and produced by Leon Fromkess,…

10/11/2021

Join me at Shadows and Satin for Day 9 of Noirvember, where I shine the spotlight on Al Roberts in Detour (1945). https://bit.ly/3BZSCuB

14/07/2021

The Summer 2021 FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE ( #105) is out! Articles: Sandra Dee. Connie Stevens, Carol Lynley, Yvette Mimieux, Tuesday Weld, Diane McBain and Sue Lyon, The Mauch Twins, Christopher Riordan, Sherlock Holmes in Canada (un-shot film treatment), The Civil War on Film, plus the regular feature OVERLOOKED IN HOLLYWOOD (profiles on Anne James, Helen Parrish, Adele Mara, Carolyn Kearney, Patti McCarty and Maxine Cooper). NOTE: This is a PRINT publication, it is not available online. To get a FREE issue of the next FILMS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, to buy this one ($5.90), or to subscribe, email Carol at [email protected].

18/03/2021

From the Vicky Lane page (thank you, Tara!).

On May 27th, 1944, Vicky married film actor Tom Neal in Las Vegas, NV. She was 16 years of age at the time, and Tom was nearly twice her age. Both were rising stars in Hollywood, and both came from affluent families. Furthermore, they were madly in love, so their wedding was by all appearances a match made in heaven. Certainly, bigger and better things for the both of them were just around the corner, or so it seemed. Sadly, this was not to be.

Tom, a successful former amateur boxer with a brutal knockout punch, was a notoriously difficult person offscreen, prone to violence, jealousy, and a volcanic temper. In addition, his life's story has all the characteristics of classic film noir: lurid passion, high drama, violence, and tragedy. His later post-marriage exploits with Barbara Payton, further underscored by his brutal beating of her fiance, Franchot Tone, in 1951, are legendary. More tragically still, Tom was found guilty in 1965 of murdering his third wife in a fit of anger while she slept.

However, during the five years he was married to Vicky, he starred in some of his most memorable films, especially the 1945 noir classic Detour. Vicky, on the other hand, left film altogether shortly after she starred in Jungle Captive for reasons unknown. Tom was reported in the press to have intensely disliked Vicky's makeup in that film, and given his jealous temperament, it is possible he played a major role in her early retirement.

Vicky separated from Tom on July 4th, 1949. During the divorce proceedings, which were covered by both the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Examiner, Vicky cited Tom's "unreasoning jealousy" and his mental and physical cruelty as grounds for their divorce. According to Vicky, she "couldn't go to the corner store to buy a pack of ci******es without being accused of associating with other men." Their divorce was finalized on August 8th, 1949.

Below is the only picture from their marriage that Vicky kept among her personal papers. The source for the image is an as-yet-unidentified entertainment magazine [News-Views?], ca. 1944.

TV Noir! Full episode! Tom Neal & Ann Savage Reunion in "The Red Dress." Rare Wayback! WOW-18

01/02/2021

The Red Dress Case | 26min | Crime, Drama | Episode aired 1955
(Tom Neal with Ann Savage)

TV Noir! Full episode! Tom Neal & Ann Savage Reunion in "The Red Dress." Rare Wayback! WOW-18 Rare TV pairing! Tom Neal and Ann Savage reunite for the last time in the forgotten 1955 TV Noir "The Red Dress," part of the early TV anthology series based...

31/01/2021

JANUS FILMS TO TOUR NEW 4K RESTORATION OF EDGAR G. ULMER’S DETOUR
@ https://www.film-foundation.org/detour-janus

(4/25/2018 : CriterionCast)

www.film-foundation.org

14/12/2020

Ann Savage on Detour.

Ann Savage--Rare TV Interview, Detour Ann Savage, film noir legend and star of the classic "Detour," is interviewed by cable TV host Skip E Lowe in this rare TV appearance.

26/11/2020

Barbara prepares Thanksgiving dinner in 1952. Along with being a talented actress, Barbara was a gourmet cook, and extremely skilled in interior design, as well.

23/11/2020

Tom Neal and Ann Savage star in Edgar G. Ulmer's Poverty Row masterpiece DETOUR from 1945, marking its 75th anniversary this year. Now playing in NOIR CITY: International, screening in a 4K restoration from Janus Films. Introduction by film historian Foster Hirsch.

The festival takes place online now through November 29, co-presented with the Film Noir Foundation and featuring introductions by Eddie Muller host of Turner Classic Movies: TCM's Noir Alley, and others!

For more information and to purchase tickets and passes please visit: https://tinyurl.com/AFINOIRCITYInternational

The Miracle Kid - Full Movie | Tom Neal, Carol Hughes, Betty Blythe, Ben Taggart, Vickie Lester

10/11/2020

A third-rate boxer who loses most of his fights suddenly finds himself knocking out almost every one of his opponents. His sleazy manager spreads the word that the fighter has "the evil eye" and casts a spell on the men he's fighting. A female reporter sets out to find the truth. (IMDB)

The Miracle Kid - Full Movie | Tom Neal, Carol Hughes, Betty Blythe, Ben Taggart, Vickie Lester Unknown to his clients, publicity man Al Bolger handles the accounts for both Madame Gloria and J. Hamilton Gibbs, who run rival body building institutes. Wh...

30/10/2020

Beware the Halloween Hitchhikers!

16/10/2020

Essentials #22: DETOUR (1945) Stylish. Pulpy. Fatalistic. Edgar G. Ulmer’s DETOUR is the definition of film noir, a period where hard-boiled men and women tore each…

08/10/2020

Celebrating 30 Years of The Film Foundation - Thursdays in October On its 30th anniversary, TCM salutes The Film Foundation, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization established in 1990 by Martin Scorsese and other filmmakers to protect and preserve motion picture history. By working in partnership with archives and studios, the Film Foundation has helped restore over 8

27/09/2020

Film Noir’s 10 Most Dangerous Leading Ladies Film Noir's 10 Most Dangerous Leading Ladies

27/09/2020

"GOOD NEWS for DETOUR '45! After a long search, a pristine print of the 1943 film KLONDIKE KATE has been found!" :)

GOOD NEWS for DETOUR '45! After a long search, a pristine print of the 1943 film KLONDIKE KATE has been found! Thanks to Associate Producer and good pal Cochise Miller, we now have the first feature co-starring Ann Savage and Tom Neal in better quality than the elements in the Sony/Columbia Pictures vault! Good things take time! :)

27/09/2020

DETOUR '45: A Noir Documentary Film

11/09/2020

The Sentence - Getting Away With It
(San Bernardino Sun, 15 January 1966)

09/09/2020

Barbara Payton.

07/09/2020

Day 16 of Noirvember, Part 2: The Trials of Tom Neal Tom Neal’s life was like a movie. A tragic one. He was born with the proverbial “silver spoon,” received a quality education at the nation’s finest schools – he was the All-American boy. When he de…

Image: Tom Neal at Brian's Drive-In Theater

06/09/2020

Sunday at the Beach.

Image: Tom Neal at Brian's Drive-In Theater Found on Google from briansdriveintheater.com

06/09/2020

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, 03 Apr 1965
(sad) news

06/09/2020

The Hat Box Mystery (1947) TOM NEAL Stars: Tom Neal, Pamela Blake, Allen Jenkins Director: Lambert Hillyer Susan Hart, assistant to private detective Russ Ashton, is given a camera concealed in...

Overview | Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945 | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

05/09/2020

Neal's films history background.

Overview | Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945 | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress The widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly with the stock market crash in October 1929 and the great economic depression that followed.

04/09/2020

A close(r) up:

EUROPE-BOUND - Barbara Payton, whose divorce from Franchot Tone is in process, and Actor Tom Neal are shown as they applied yesterday for passports to England, France and Italy. They plan to leave July 12 1951 and later will make a film together in Mexico.

03/09/2020

'When two people love each other, they don't look at each other, they look in the same direction.'
Ginger Rogers

(Image Courtesy of the Redfield family and the John O'Dowd Archive)

02/09/2020

"TOM NEAL SPEAKS - Actor Tom Neal is shown as he gives The Times his version of battle which sent Actor Franchot Tone to hospital seriously injured. Neal expressed regret at incident and said he hopes Tone and Barbara Payton will be happy."
(in https://dl.library.ucla.edu/)

01/09/2020

Tom Neal as Mickey Moran in Radar Secret Service.

Radar Secret Service 1950 / Sam Newfield

01/09/2020

Radar Secret Service, Sam Newfield, 1950

Radar Secret Service 1950 / Sam Newfield Title: Radar Secret Service Year: 1950 Type: Public Domain Quality: DVD Resolution: 708 x 476 Director: Sam Newfield Stars: John Howard, Adele Jergens, Tom Neal

01/09/2020

New Wade Williams Distribution inc. site.

Check out the Wade Williams Collection website:

https://www.wadewilliamscollection.com/index.html

31/08/2020

With Gail Evatt, third wife.

Claim ownership or report listing

Website

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neal