Tom Neal, the stage name of Thomas Carroll Neal Jr. (1914-1972), was an American actor, known primarily for his role as Al Roberts in the low-budget film noir *Detour* (1945) by Edgar G. Ulmer. His career, which developed from the late 1930s to the early 1950s, saw him star in numerous B-movies, often for production companies such as PRC, in which he played tough characters or tormented protagonists. In addition to *Detour*, he appeared in films such as the serial *Jungle Girl* (1941) and *First Yank into Tokyo* (1945). Although he received no major awards during his career, his performance in *Detour* has been widely re-evaluated by critics over time; the film itself is now considered a classic of the genre and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1992. His film career ended abruptly in the mid-1950s, partly due to a turbulent personal life that damaged his public image.