Kim Peek, the real-life savant who inspired Dustin Hoffman's portrayal in Rain Man, has died of a heart attack at the age of 58, leaving a legacy of hope for parents and their disabled children.
Peek was born with a damaged cerebellum, and the nerves that normally connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain were missing. The result was a child with deep physical and mental deficits, but a superhuman memory. He memorized thousands of books word for word at a glance, and could recall the most arcane trivia from Shakespeare quotes to zip codes.
The Best Picture Oscar winner in 1988, Rain Man also brought Hoffman the Best Actor award, and made Peek an international sensation. He traveled the world with his devoted father, Fran Peek, helping to dispel misconceptions about disability. His death last week in his home in Salt Lake City drew an outpouring of sympathy and gratitude from those whose lives he touched.
Comments
what a tragic lost! the movie Rain Man was great, but, Kim Peek will live on in my memory. he was a gentle man. Kim deserves to be immortalized with the likes of einstein, pasteur etc…unlike the fake heroes of today tiger woods, johnny depp,snoop doggy dog, etc… Lucky for Kim he had a father that took care of him without exploitation but just enough to make ends meet. Wake up people and get your priorities straightened. long live education and our children.