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 Ferrer's Oscar-winning portrayal of "Cyrano de Bergerac", and then devoted his career primarily to television and theater. Likewise, Phyllis Thaxter, at the start of a long TV career, after playing a couple of minor leads and several second and third leads in seventeen films produced between 1944 and 1952, made her first small-screen appearance in this twenty-six-minute miniaturization of "Miracle in the Rain", which also included Una Merkel as Ruth's mother and Mildred Dunnock as Grace. Miracle in the Rain Miracle in the Rain is a United States home front during World War II-themed novella by veteran screenwriter Ben Hecht,