Edwin Neal is an American actor and voice actor, perhaps best known for his role as the hitchhiker in ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, w ...

''. He has been a voice talent and actor for years 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 Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

's '' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption''. He set a record doing 26 different voices in the only completely unedited version of all 103 episodes of ''

Gatchaman is a Japanese animated 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 Gatchaman ...

'' (''

Battle of the Planets ''Battle of the Planets'' is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (1972). Of the 105 original ''Gatchaman'' episodes, 85 were used in the ''Battle of the Planets'' adaptation, produced by Sandy Fra ...

''), which included the lead villain Berg Katse. Neal also provides three voices in the ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play action combat 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 w ...

'' game; those of

Two-Face Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...

Killer Croc Killer Croc is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery. Originally a ...

, and Harvey Bullock.

Early life and career

Neal, after high school, studied at

Lon Morris College Lon Morris College (LMC) was a private junior college located in Jacksonville, Texas, United States, and was the only school affiliated with the United Methodist Church that was owned by an individual conference and not the denomination ...

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, and pa ...

, before moving on to acting and directing studies at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. While there, Neal 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 went on to become a cult classic. Neal still continues to act. His most notable roles since ''

'' were playing the Mercer interrogator in

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

's ''

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

'', and Big Chuck's Henchman in the 1993 movie '' My Boyfriend's Back''. He has also done some voice work, for films, computer games and cartoons. Neal also 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, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

, and owns one of the world's largest movie poster collections, from 1900 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 in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in 1969.

Filmography

Film roles

* ''

'' (1974) - Nubbins Sawyer / The Hitchhiker * '' My Two Loves'' (1986) - Telephone Man * ''

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 * ''Good Girl, Bad Girl'' - Nolan * ''

'' (1991) - Mercer * '' My Boyfriend's Back'' (1993) - Big Chuck's Henchman * '' Mr Hell'' (2001) - Freemont * '' Holy Hell'' (2005) - Bolton * '' Satan's Playground'' (2006) - Boy * ''Shudder'' - Frances * ''Dropping Evil'' - President Strode * ''Bone Boys'' - Freddy * ''The Best Laid Plans'' (2019) - Jimmy

Anime roles

*''

Blade of the Phantom Master /() is a South Korean-Japanese manhwa 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.BTVA Anime Dub Awards 2015 – Movies – Behind The Voice Actors
/ref>) *''

GetBackers is a Japanese manga series written by Yuya Aoki and illustrated by Rando Ayamine. The series was serialized in Kodansha's '' Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1999 until 2007, totaling 39 volumes. The plot follows the "GetBackers", a group t ...

'' - Mr. Sasakida *''

Getter Robo Armageddon ''Getter Robo Armageddon'', known in Japan as , is an 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 series ''Getter Robo'', created ...

'' - Gai *''

Happy Lesson ''Happy Lesson'' is a comedy manga, written by Mutsumi Sasaki and illustrated by Shinnosuke Mori, serialized in '' Dengeki G's Magazine'' from April 1999 to September 2002, featuring a high school student who is adopted by five of his teac ...

'' - 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. Series The series in order: ''God Mazinger'' is related by name only and ''Mazinkaiser'' is an OVA retelling of earlier ''Mazinger'' stories, based partly on desi ...

'' - Professor Morimori, Nuke *''

Moeyo Ken TV ''Moeyo Ken'', known in Japan as , is a PS2 video game from 2002 about magical girl variants of Shinsengumi, a police force, and of Sakamoto Ryunosuke and his illegal companion, Nekomaru. The game was adapted into an OVA and a television ser ...

'' - Nekomaru *'' Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water'' , , Jean's Uncle, Newspaper Editor *''

Ninja Resurrection ''Ninja Resurrection'', known in Japan as is a two-part original video animation directed by Yasunori Urata. The OVA series is based on Futaro Yamada's novel ''Makai Tensho''. Although of a similar style, ''Ninja Resurrection'' is not a sequ ...

'' - 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 being ...

'' - Financier, Gojii *'' Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie'' -

Dr. Robotnik Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik is the main antagonist of Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Eggman was created and designed by Naoto Ohshima as part of many design choices for Sega's new mascot. After the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog, Oh ...

, President, Metal Robotnik *'' Soul Hunter'' - Lisei *'' Steam Detectives'' - Dr. Guilty *''

Wedding Peach is a '' 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, consisting ...

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

Video game roles

Voice roles

* ''Love Lost in a Boat'' - Narration

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Edwin Living people Male actors from Texas Lon Morris College alumni American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American military personnel of the Vietnam War Year of birth missing (living people)