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 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.
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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.
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.
