Kim Peek, the real Rain Man, dies at 58

Posted by Labelle Bitalac on Dec 22nd, 2009 and filed under Bookmarked, Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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Kim Peek, the real Rain Man, dies at 58
 

Kim Peek, the man who served as the inspiration for the 1988 film “Rain Man,” has died on Saturday.

The 58-year-old Kim was rushed to a hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah because of a major heart attack.

Researchers and scientists called him a “megasavant” because of an extraordinary ability. He had an eidetic or photographic memory, which was possibly caused by congenital brain abnormalities. He could retain huge loads of information and recite them unblinkingly.

Raymond Babbitt, the character played by Dustin Hoffman, in the comedy-drama film “Rain Main” was greatly modeled after Kim. However, unlike Babbitt, Kim did not suffer from autism.

Peek was examined by NASA scientists in 2004. He underwent a series of tests including an MRI and computerized tomography.

In 2008, researchers concluded that he probably had a rare genetic condition called FG syndrome that is known to cause macrocephaly, which refers to having an abnormally large head, and hypotonia, which means having low muscle tone.

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