12. Franchot Tone and Tom Neal
Franchot Tone was a film and stage star of sufficient stature to marry Joan Crawford in 1935. Over the next four years, they tried to have children with no success; Crawford suffered two miscarriages and their marriage dissolved when his drinking became out of control. Having lost Joan, Tone turned to a fashion model and actress named Jean Wallace. Their seven-year marriage produced two sons. Divorced again, Tone began pursuing Barbara Payton, another actress who was also involved with an actor and former boxer named Tom Neal. Tone and Neal encountered each other one evening at Payton’s home, and with the actress providing an enthralled audience, the two men attempted to settle the issue with fisticuffs. Tone was beaten soundly, with his opponent inflicting a broken cheekbone and nose, a concussion, and a no doubt severely bruised ego. The latter was soothed by Payton and Tone marrying after he recovered.
The public found the story too salacious to ignore, especially after the marriage split up after less than two months. Payton vacated the marital home and returned to Neal, and Tone, perhaps wisely, decided to resolve the issue in court rather than in another bout. Payton and Neal became engaged after Tone won a divorce over the issue of adultery, but the marriage never came off. Tone, well-connected with powerful MGM, used his influence to ensure that Neal was unable to find acting roles in Hollywood. Neal eventually married a receptionist named Gale Bennett, living with her in Palm Springs until 1965, when she was murdered. Eventually, Neal was convicted of manslaughter in her death. And Tone? He attempted to remarry Joan Crawford when he was dying of cancer in the 1960s, but she demurred, though she did care for him in his last days, and arranged his funeral when he died in 1968.