PUBLIC INVITED TO FREE FIRESIDE BY THE FATHER OF KIM PEEK, THE REAL “RAIN MAN”

Fran Peek, father of mega-savant Kim Peek—the inspiration for the Dustin Hoffman character portrayed in the movie “Rain Man”—will give a fireside on the life of his extraordinary son. Local LDS publisher Covenant Communications will tape the lecture for release on CD later this year. The lecture is open to the public; those interested in attending should be in their seats by 6:55 p.m. on Thursday, March 25, at Covenant Communications, 920 E. State Road (Digital Source Studio), in American Fork. No children, please.

Kim Peek has been called the world’s most famous savant. Born in 1951 in Salt Lake City, Kim was diagnosed as severely mentally retarded and his parents were advised to place him in an institution and forget about him. Thirty years later, he was classified as a “mega-savant”—a genius in about 15 different subjects, from history, literature, and geography to numbers, sports, music, and dates.

By the time of his death last December he had memorized more than 9,000 books, including the Book of Mormon. He could read two pages simultaneously, his left eye reading the left page and his right eye reading the right page, allowing him to complete a page in just ten seconds.

Despite his great mental abilities, he could not perform simple tasks such as dressing himself or combing his hair; throughout his life he required 24-hour care. Because of their closeness, Kim maintained that he and his father shared the same shadow. Father and son traveled extensively to share Kim’s amazing skill and inspirational story with audiences worldwide.

The recording session will last between 60 and 90 minutes. To reserve a seat, email covenantpromotions@gmail.com. Additional lectures will be presented in the coming months at the same location.

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