"He was married," she pointed out 30 years later, "and declined to leave his wife. And rightly so." Some published accounts suggested that the affair led her to a nervous breakdown.
Having been suspended by Warner Bros. for refusing to star in a western with Randolph Scott, Neal decided to leave Hollywood. Later she recalled that she just wasn't ready for the movies the first time around. "I blame nobody but myself and my immaturity," she said.
She returned to New York where, in December 1952 she opened in a revival of "The Children's Hour." She then played off-Broadway in "School for Scandal."
In 1953, she married Dahl, an RAF flier who had been shot down early in World War II and assigned to a post in Washington, D.C., where he began writing short stories. It was Dahl who invented the term "gremlins" for the mythical creatures blamed for flying problems during the war.
After their marriage, Neal's television and stage work enabled Dahl to continue writing short stories at his measured pace. They bought a home in England, about an hour outside of London, and spent part of their time in New York so she could maintain her acting career.
As she rebuilt that career, she played in Broadway in "A Roomful of Roses," was associated with the Actors Studio and was chosen by Elia Kazan to fill in for Barbara Bel Geddes in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
She also scored a film success in "A Face in the Crowd" with Andy Griffith. In 1960, she had a small part in the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's."
But that same year the first tragedy struck. Her infant son, Theo, was being wheeled across a New York street by a nurse when the stroller was struck by a passing cab. The child underwent a series of operations and was left with water on the brain.
Two years later, her daughter, Olivia, 7, died from brain inflammation after a case of measles.
In 1963 she made "Hud" with Paul Newman. Her portrayal of the slatternly housekeeper brought her an Academy Award as best actress and the British Film Academy award.
"It's strange to find myself suddenly in demand again," she said after that abrupt return to the Hollywood spotlight. "My professional life in the last few years falls into two sections, pre-'Hud' and post-'Hud.' I'm not a very ambitious woman and had been very happy just living with my family in the country, perhaps making a film every couple of years."
She then appeared in other films, "Psyche 59" and "In Harm's Way."
But in February 1965, at the age of 39, after the first day of filming for "Seven Women," she suffered a brain hemorrhage while giving her oldest daughter, Tessa, 8, a bath.
She had two more strokes after her arrival at UCLA Medical Center, where she underwent a seven-hour operation.
Neal, who was pregnant, was in a coma for more than two weeks and on the critical list for three. Throughout that time, her husband sat by her bedside day after day talking to her, trying to penetrate the darkness.
When she finally was allowed to return to their rented Pacific Palisades home, Dahl described her as "exceedingly cheerful." He called her "a tremendous fighter." But her entire right side was paralyzed. She was partially blind. She had no memory and she could not speak.
Three months later, however, as she left Los Angeles International Airport for her home in England, the actress was able to joke haltingly with reporters about her speech difficulty. She walked with a brace on her right leg and there was lingering evidence of her paralysis. She had a black patch over her left eye.
Back in England, she gave birth to another daughter, Lucy, and went through prolonged therapy at the insistence of her husband, who was determined that she recover. He had her swimming in a hospital pool, walking, playing memory games and doing crossword puzzles. A strong-willed friend, Valerie Eaton-Griffith, worked with her constantly.
"I loathed life when I first went back to England," Neal subsequently said. "I had exercises to do every day. My husband had people coming in to teach me — three a day. I wanted to commit suicide, but I didn't know how."
Farrell said in his book, "Pat and Roald," that Dahl kept predicting a 100% recovery, which distressed friends who didn't believe it. But in six months, the actress began to perk up and smile a little.
Late in November 1966, on a day she remembered clearly from then on, she suddenly "wanted to live again." She said, "When I 'woke up' and had been ill for 18 months, I began to like life again."
In March 1967, she made her first real public appearance since being stricken. At the insistence of her husband, she spoke to 2,000 people in New York City at a benefit for the New York Assn. for Brain Injured Children. In that speech, she told of the friends who, with incredible patience, had struggled to turn "a complete idiot … an enormous pink cabbage … " into a human being again.
And she gave most of the credit to Dahl: "My husband is a great man. I love him."
