Kim Peek, inspiration for “Rain Main”, dies
The man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s Oscar-winning performance in Rain Man died Saturday. Kim Peek, or the “Real Rain Man” as he has come to be known, died of a heart attack in his Utah home. He was 58.
Peek is perhaps the world’s most famous savant, undoubtedly being catapulted into celebrity after the 1988 premiere of the movie he inspired. It was just four years prior that Peek had met the film’s screenwriter Barry Morrow, who would begin working on the film shortly thereafter.
Early on, Peek was diagnosed as mentally retarded, his parents told that he would never possess the ability to learn or even walk. Additionally, doctors believed he wouldn’t live past age 14. Despite these diagnoses, and with the devoted care of his parents, Peek grew to become like no one else in recorded history. So unique, in fact, that even NASA wanted a shot at studying Peek’s brain.
Able to retain vast amounts of information, Peek’s mind is often compared to that of a computer. Unlike most savants who are usually exceptional in one particular area like mathematics or history, Peek was an expert in 15 different subjects, that is, just about everything.
In the years leading up to his death, Peek and his father campaigned together for the disabled, including writing a book, The Life and Message of the Real Rain Man.
[photo: pheezy]
Tags: Dustin Hoffman, heart attack, Kim Peek, Rain Man, savant
