‘Rain Man’ Company’s Contributions Against Autism
In reference to Mrs. F.M. Snowden’s March 26 letter charging that the “Rain Man” company has not supported the effort against autism: It is true that the L.A. premiere of “Rain Man” did not benefit an autism-related organization; instead it aided Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, an organization for children with cancer and other handicaps. However, I am compelled to point out some of the many efforts all of us involved with the film have made on behalf of autism.
Benefit premieres were held in West Virginia (for Autism Services Center); Cincinnati (Society for Autistic Children); Des Moines (Autism Society of America); San Diego (Institute for Child Behavior Research); London (The National Autistic Society) and in at least five European countries other than Britain.
Incidentally, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Barry Levinson (the director) and I attended most of these premieres either individually or in combination. Furthermore, Dustin Hoffman himself wrote a compassionate fund-raising letter for the 200 chapters of the Autism Society of America.
In addition, we are anticipating a contribution to various autism-related research projects from a percentage of the profits of the “Rain Man” videocassette.
MARK JOHNSON
Producer, “Rain Man”
Los Angeles
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