[1] In Kansas City, he met six-time world champion Bennie Allen, who became the teenager's mentor.
[1][2] Parker later said, "I never had any idea I was going to turn professional and shoot for money until I started studying with Benny Allen.
"[1] However, Tevis maintained that "Fast Eddie" and "Minnesota Fats" were fictitious, and he resented assertions that he had "created such memorable characters out of mere reportage".
After his death in 1984, his widow debunked claims for years that the Fast Eddie character was based on a real person.
[3] He died in 2001 at age 69 of a heart attack while attending the US Classic Billiards Eight-Ball Showdown tournament near Brownsville, Texas.