Tom Neal
  • Tom Neal
  • Tom Neal
  • Tom Neal
Who's Dated Who feature on Tom Neal including awards, trivia, quotes, pictures, biography, photos, videos, pics, news, commentary, vital stats, fans and facts.
Tom Neal Dating
Tom Neal Star Sign Aquarius
 

Tom Neal Relationships

Who is Tom Neal dating?

Click on the photos to find out Who's Dated Who...
 

Post Your Vote

Vote for Tom's Top Romance

Vote Results
 

Career Highlights

Actor Credits
 

Tom Neal Biography
Thomas Neal (January 28, 1914 – August 7, 1972) was an American actor famous for appearing in the critically lauded film Detour, a tryst with Barbara Payton and later committing manslaughter.

Born in Evanston, Illinois, Neal debuted on the Broadway stage 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.

Neal appeared in many low budget B-movies in the 40s and early 50s. 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.

In 1951, he fought aristocratic actor Franchot Tone over their mutual girlfriend, actress Barbara Payton. 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.

Neal remarried almost immediately and in 1957 fathered a son. 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 7, 1971, he was released on parole.

On August 7, 1972, Neal died of heart failure in North Hollywood, California at the age of 58. He was cremated, and his ashes stored in the vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles.

Biography Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Neal
 

Comments
Be the first person to add a comment!
 

Submit a Comment
 

Snapshot
    Name Tom Neal
    (Thomas Neal)
    Build Athletic
    Date of Birth January 28, 1914
    Birthplace Evanston, Illinois, USA
    Star Sign Aquarius
    Died August 7, 1972 (Aged 58)
    Location of Death North Hollywood, California, USA
    Cause of Death heart failure
    Nationality American
    Ethnicity White
    Occupation Actor
    Celebrity Index To
    Claim to Fame Detour (1945); and his off-screen exploits

    Rate this Date
 

Photo Gallery
 

Fans
Tom Neal has no fans yet!
 

Trivia
Quotes
  • "Women in my life brought me nothing but unhappiness."
    (TN, following his 1971 release from prison for the murder of his third wife in 1965)
  • "Women come and go...like trolley cars."
    Women
    Trivia
  • Father of actor Tom Neal Jr. (b.1957)
    (imdb.com)
  • Neal was born to a wealthy family in Evanston, Illinois.
    (imdb.com)
  • Neal`s family wanted him to become a lawyer, but the muscular Neal, a standout boxer on his college`s boxing team, dreamed of an acting career.
    (imdb.com)
  • Noted for his rugged good looking and charming personality, as well as his hair trigger temper, and jealous outbursts.
    (imdb.com)
  • Tried a comeback in the movies and on television in the late 1950s, but his career was finished due to his violent off-screen reputation.
    (imdb.com)
  • Neal had an impressive college boxing career. While at Northwestern and Harvard Universities, Neal compiled an amateur boxing record of 44-3 (41 knockouts).
    (imdb.com)
  • Was once engaged in 1934 to Inez Martin, an one-time Follies girl and ex-mistress of murdered racketeer Arnold Rothstein, who was shot to death inside a Park Central Hotel room on November 4, 1928. Martin was twice Tom`s age. His father put an end to the whole thing by threatening Tom with disinheritance of the family`s million-dollar fortune.
    (imdb.com)
  • Made his Broadway stage debut in a small role in "If This Be Treason" in 1935. Moved to California when a couple of other Broadway roles in "Spring Dance" (1936) and "Daughters of Atreus" (1936) failed to advance his career.
    (imdb.com)
  • Both he and battling girlfriend Barbara Payton appeared together in The Great Jesse James Raid (1953).
    (imdb.com)
  • After his film career dissipated after a flurry of bad press, he left Hollywood for Palm Springs and worked such jobs as a night manager for a restaurant and a gardener. Eventually he set up his own landscaping business, but the business failed after a few years and he went into bankruptcy.
    (imdb.com)
  • His second wife Patricia Fenton, whom he married in 1956, died of cancer in 1958. She bore his namesake, Tom Neal Jr., who later had a role in the remake of his father`s classic film noir: Detour (1992). Following her death, his son lived with Tom`s sister.
    (imdb.com)
    •  

    Top Contributors
    Top editors for this profile:
    Who's Dated Who content is contributed and edited by our readers. Please report errors or omissions on this page.
    Signup Here
     

    Related Links
     

    Related Profiles