Leslie Lemke
| Leslie Lemke | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 31, 1952 [1] Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US |
| Origin | Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, US |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | piano, singing, numerous others |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Leslie Lemke (born January 31, 1952) is a blind American autistic savant who is most notable for his work as a musician.
Biography
Leslie Lemke was born prematurely in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1952. As a complication of his premature birth, Leslie developed retinal problems, then glaucoma, and his eyes had to be surgically removed in the first months of life. There was also brain damage (and cerebral palsy), and Leslie was extremely ill. His birth mother gave him up for adoption, and the county asked May Lemke, a nurse-governess who they knew and trusted, if she would take Leslie into her receiving home, ill as he was and carrying such a dire prognosis.[2] 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 he was 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. By 1980, Leslie was regularly giving concerts in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. His newfound fame gained him invitations to various television shows such as CBC's Man Alive (hosted by Roy Bonisteel), CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, and That's Incredible!. In 1983, ABC broadcast The Woman Who Willed a Miracle, a drama about Leslie and his adoptive mother. It stars Cloris Leachman as May Lemke. Dustin Hoffman watched the program and was “moved to tears” by Leslie. When the movie script Rainman came to Hollywood, Dustin Hoffman reported, “I thought, I love him. I want to play a savant.” Leslie is also the subject of Fred Small's song, "Leslie is Different" and makes a short appearance in Michael Vey 4.
Leslie toured the United States, Scandinavia, and Japan and 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.
See also
Further information
- Bonisteel, Roy. All Things Considered, page 25, Doubleday Canada Limited, 1997. ISBN 0-385-25599-3
- Monty, Shirlee. May's Boy: An Incredible Story of Love, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1983. ISBN 978-0-8407-5784-5
References
External links
- Leslie Lemke profile from the Wisconsin Medical Society
- [blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/whatever-happened-to-leslie-lemke/]
