Neal Cassady was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movements of the 1960s. He served as the primary inspiration for the character of Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's iconic novel 'On the Road.' Cassady was also the famed driver of the Merry Pranksters' bus, 'Furthur,' during their journey chronicled by Tom Wolfe. Though his own literary output was smaller, his frenetic, confessional letter-writing style profoundly influenced Kerouac's 'spontaneous prose' method.