According to the Illustrated Screenplay, Harry K. Thaw was the basis for the character of Cal.

-- Thomas M. Terashima (tom@nucleus.com), February 12, 1999

Answers

Harry Thaw? He's the guy who shot the famed New York architect Sanford White to death, then claimed insanity plus wild stories about White's sexual "interests," isn't he? (His story was the backdrop of E.L. Doctorow's novel "Ragtime," which later became an acclaimed film and now a Broadway musical.

I don't see the similarity at all.

Oh well...

-- Kip Henry (kip-henry@ouhsc.edu), February 12, 1999.

Make that loosely based on Cal:

People like Thaw were almost totally insulated from the effects of their behaviour by their social status and wealth. Cal is no exception.

-- James Cameron

-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicshack@yahoo.com), February 13, 1999.