The Real Rain Man Has Died

Kim Peek, the mentally disabled savant who inspired the Oscar-winning film “Rain Man,” died Saturday of a heart attack. He was 58.

Peek was a mega-savant with the ability to recall 98 percent of everything he read, saw or heard. Peek’s remarkable mental abilities left such an impression on screenwriter Barry Morrow that he was inspired to write the movie “Rain Man.” The film, while fiction, significantly raised public awareness of Autism, Savant syndrome, and mental disabilities.

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