Who was Neal Cassady?
Glad you asked. Neal was a good friend of Kerouac as well as an auto thief. He also may have had elements of Dean’s madness. • The character Carlo Marx was modeled after Allen Ginsberg. Yes, the great Beat poet and author of super famous “Howl.” Lots of people say that On the Road is the prose equivalent of “Howl” – both are poster pieces for the Beat Generation. • William Burroughs was the inspiration for Bull Lee. Burroughs was a fellow Beat writer and intense drug user. Hi wife, Joan Vollmer, was the model for Jane Lee. • Remi Boncœur was modeled after Henri Cru. Hence the French. Henri went to prep school with Kerouac (Horace Mann School in New York) and introduced him to Edie Parker, Kerouac’s first wife. The whole guard in the barracks gig? That did happen. • Marylou, Dean’s first wife, was modeled after LuAnne Henderson. LuAnne married Neal (or Dean) when she was only fifteen. • The character Camille was inspired by Carolyn Cassady. Carolyn was Dean’s second wife. • Diana Hansen
