Kilgore Trout

Kilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized verson of author Theodore Sturgeon (Vonnegut's colleague in the genre of science fiction), although Trout's consistent presence in Vonnegut's works has also led critics to view him as the author's own "alter ego." Trout is also the titular "author" of the novel Venus on the Half-Shell, written pseudonymously by Philip José Farmer. In 1957, Theodore Sturgeon moved to Truro, Massachusetts, where he befriended Vonnegut, then working as a salesman in a Saab dealership. At the time, both were clearly writing in the genre of science fiction (Vonnegut had already published Player Piano, retitled Utopia 14 in paperback). But by the time of Kilgore Trout's first appearance (in 1965's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater), both had moved to different cities, and Vonnegut had begun to be perceived as a mainstream author. The name was a transparent reference to the older writer ... full article at wikipedia