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[2] and has been a voice talent, appearing on screen and off, including Ghor in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Two-Face, Killer Croc, and Harvey Bullock in DC Universe Online. Neal set a record of doing 26 different voices in the only completely unedited version of all 105 episodes of Gatchaman (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. While there, he auditioned for the role of the Hitchhiker in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and got it. He has said that, when auditioning, he acted as an eccentric relative of his. The film gained major popularity over the years and went on to become a cult classic.[3][4][5][6]
Neal continues to act. His most notable roles since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre were playing the Mercer interrogator in JFK and one of Big Chuck’s Henchmen in the 1993 film My Boyfriend’s Back. He has also done voice work for films, video games, and animated series. Neal annually tours worldwide making many public appearances as the Hitchhiker character at horror conventions and related gatherings.
Honors
Neal was inducted into the “Hollywood Horror Hall of Fame” in 1993 alongside Vincent Price, and owns one of the world’s largest film poster collections, from the year 1900 to the present day. He received a Bronze Star for Valor during his service during the Vietnam War in 1969.[citation needed]
Filmography
Film
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) – Nubbins Sawyer
- Future-Kill (1985) – Splatter
- My Two Loves (1986) – Telephone Man
- Good Girl, Bad Girl (1990)
- JFK (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)[7] – Toxic Waste Worker
- Satan’s Playground (2006) – Boy
- The Man Who Came Back (2007)[8] – Ugly guard
- It Came from Trafalgar (2008)[9] – Chester
- Holy Hell (2009) – Bolton
- Love Lost in a Boat – Narrator
- 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
- Final Fantasy: Unlimited – Pist Shaz
- Gatchaman – Berg Katse (ADV dub)[10]
- Gatchaman: The Movie – Berg Katse (BTVA Award for Best male supporting vocal performance in an anime movie/special)[11][12]
- GetBackers – Mr. Sasakida
- Getter Robo Armageddon – Gai[12]
- Happy Lesson – Tanuki
- Jing: King of Bandits – Emcee[12]
- Lost Universe – Drunk, Barker, Superintendent General, Roy Glen
- Mazinger – Professor Morimori, Nuke[12]
- Moeyo Ken TV – Nekomaru
- Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water – Jean’s Uncle, Newspaper Editor
- Ninja Resurrection – Souiken Mori
- Sakura Wars – Financier, Gojii
- Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie – Dr. Robotnik, President, Metal Robotnik[12]
- Soul Hunter – Lisei
- Steam Detectives – Dr. Guilty
- Wedding Peach – Jamapon
- Zaion: I Wish You Were Here – Dr. Domeki
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi | The Emperor (voice) | |
| 1995 | Crusader: No Remorse | Dr. Gregor Hoffman (voice) | |
| 2000 | Starlancer | Admiral Petrov | |
| 2001 | Conquest: Frontier Wars | Spinelayer, ESP Coil, Troopship | |
| 2003 | Deus Ex: Invisible War | Generic Citizen No. 5, WTO Guard #1 | |
| 2007 | Metroid Prime 3: Corruption | Ghor, Trooper, Noncom | |
| 2011 | DC Universe Online | Two-Face, Killer Croc, Harvey Bullock | [12] |
| 2023 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | The Hitchhiker |
References
- ^ “Edwin Neal”.
- ^ “Edwin Neal”. Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (June 13, 2024). “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre review – original 1974 shocker is grotesque but brilliant masterpiece”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | Rotten Tomatoes”. www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ Phipps, C. T. (April 23, 2020). “MOVIE REVIEW: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)”. Grimdark Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) – Financial Information”. The Numbers. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ “Mr. Hell (2005) | MUBI”.
- ^ “The Man Who Came Back | Rotten Tomatoes”. Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ “It Came from Trafalgar”.
- ^ “The Giant Mummy That Summons Storms”. Gatchaman. Season 1. Episode 3. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. – closing credits
- ^ BTVA Anime Dub Awards 2015 – Movies – Behind The Voice Actors
- ^ a b c d e f “Edwin Neal (visual voices guide)”. BTVA (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title’s list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Retrieved July 18, 2019.
External links
- Edwin Neal at IMDb
- Edwin Neal at Anime News Network‘s encyclopedia
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