Rain Man as inaugurating a common but mistaken media stereotype that people on the autism spectrum typically have savant skills, and references to "Rain Man", in particular Dustin Hoffman's performance, have become a popular shorthand for autism and savantism. Conversely, "Rain Man" has also been seen as "dispelling" a number of other misconceptions about autism, and improving public awareness of the failure of many agencies to accommodate autistic people and make use of the abilities they do have, regardless of whether they have savant skills or not. The film is also known for popularizing the misconception that card counting is illegal in
Miracle in the Rain the future. However, upon returning to the screen after a seven-year absence, he found that his initial six films in the 1948–50 period, including the acclaimed "A Letter to Three Wives", did not restore his career as leading man and he turned to television, making his small-screen debut with "Miracle in the Rain". The role of Ruth was given to Joy Geffen, a New York stage actress with a number of undocumented appearances during TV's earliest days and at least six recorded credits for live dramas airing between 1949 and 1953. The storyline allowed for two additional characters, Ruth's mother,