Neal, after high school, studied at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, before moving on to acting and directing studies at the University of Texas at Austin. While there, Neal 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 movie went on to become a cult classic.
Neal still continues to act. His most notable roles since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre were playing the Mercer interrogator in Oliver Stone's JFK, 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.
Neal was inducted into the "Hollywood Horror Hall of Fame" in 1993 alongside Vincent Price, and owns one of the world's largest movie poster collections, from 1900 to the present day. He received a Bronze Star for Valor during his service in Vietnam in 1969.

Return to Edwin Neal Autograph Profile