- Leslie Lemke
Leslie Lemke (born 1952) is a blind American
autistic savant who is most notable for his work as amusician .Leslie Lemke was born prematurely in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1952. At birth, he was diagnosed withglaucoma ,cerebral palsy , and brain damage. Doctors were forced to remove his eyes. His birth mother gave him up foradoption , and May Lemke, a nurse, adopted him when he was six months old. To feed him, May had to push food down his throat. It was a year before Leslie could chew food on his own. It took seven years of constant care before Leslie showed any progress. During this time, he made no sounds or movements and showed no emotions. He was 12 before he first learned to stand, and 15 before he learned to walk.When he was 16, May found Leslie playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no. 1 during the middle of the night. He had recently heard the piece on
television . Leslie was soon playing all styles of music, from ragtime to classical. His adoptive mother encouraged his talent for the piano and by 1980 Leslie was regularly giving concerts inFond du Lac, Wisconsin . His new-found fame gained him invitations to various television shows such as CBC'sMan Alive , (hosted byRoy Bonisteel ), "CBS Evening News", "60 Minutes ", and "That's Incredible! ". In 1983, ABC aired a drama about Leslie and his adoptive mother, called "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle " [http://imdb.com/title/tt0237930/] , starringCloris Leachman as May.Leslie toured the United States,
Scandinavia , andJapan and also gave free concerts on various occasions. He was quite animated when he played.May Lemke developed
Alzheimer's disease and died on November 6, 1993.References
* "All Things Considered",
Roy Bonisteel , page 25, copyright 1997, Doubleday Canada Limited, ISBN 0-385-25599-3
* "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle " (TV) (1983)
* "That's Incredible! (TV) 1981
* "May's Boy: An Incredible Story of Love", Shirlee Monty, copyright 1983, Thomas Nelson Inc., ISBN 978-0840757845External links
* [http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/leslie_lemke Leslie Lemke Profile] from the Wisconsin Medical Society
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
