“Utah man who inspired ‘Rain Man’ dies”

Per the AP:

The man who inspired the title character in the Oscar-winning movie “Rain Man” has died.

Kim Peek was 58. His father, Fran, says Peek had a major heart attack Saturday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.

Peek was a savant with a remarkable memory and inspired writer Barry Morrow when he wrote “Rain Man,” the 1988 movie that won four Academy Awards.

Fran Peek said his son met Morrow at a convention in the early 1980s and the writer was taken with Peek’s knack for retaining everything he heard. Morrow wrote the script, and the movie went on to win Oscars for best film and best actor for Dustin Hoffman, whose repetitive rants about being an excellent driver and the “People’s Court” about to start were a hit with moviegoers.

The fact that Morrow conceived of a movie from his meeting with Peek is remarkable. But Peek was even more remarkable, a “mega-savant” and certified a genius in 15 different subjects. Here’s a documentary on Peek:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

And a scene from the movie Rain Man:

Morrow shared the screenplay credit on the movie with Ron Bass. Directed by Barry Levinson, the movie won 4 Oscars.

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