BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Kim Peek, the original Rain Man, who had inspired the Oscar-winning movie "Rain Man," died in Salt Lake City, Utah, according to news reports on Wednesday.

    Peek suffered a heart attack on Saturday and was dead in a hospital in Salt Lake City, where he had spent his whole life.

    Peek was famous for his low-IQ genius. Born in the 1950s in the Utah city, he was diagnosed as severely mentally retarded and his parents were suggested to leave him in an institution. Thirty years later, he was found as a super genius in 15 different subjects, such as history, literature and geography.

    Before his death, it was reported that he had committed more than 9,000 books to his memory and NASA made him the subject of MRI-based research, hoping that technology used to study the effects of space travel on the brain would help explain his mental capabilities.

    Four years ago, Peek said that he was not supposed to pass 14 years of age, and yet he had lived up to 58, as quoted in his own words, "a celebrity."

    (Agencies)