Kim Peek, The Real 'Rain Man,' Has Died

You may not recognize his name, but there's a good chance you remember Rain Man, the 1988 movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise.

Hoffman's character, a mega-savant, was based on Kim Peek.

As NPR's Howard Berkes reports from Salt Lake City, where the 58-year-old Peek lived:

He "had severe mental handicaps but reportedly remembered everything he read and heard. Peek had difficulty with simple things like turning on lights or dressing himself, but his memory was legendary. Give him a date and he'd describe its events. Name a place and he'd name the zip code. He reportedly memorized every word in 9,000 books." (NPR.org)