Friend Ed has been pointed out as one in a line of characters inspired by Steinbeck's friend Ed Ricketts.
According to his letters, conversations with composer John Cage helped Ricketts clarify some of his thoughts on poetry, and gave him new insight into the emphasis on form over content embraced by many modern artists.
John Bill Ricketts | Ed Ricketts | Ricketts' Circus | Joe Ricketts | Peter Ricketts | Cid Ricketts Sumner | Anthony Ricketts | William Reynolds Ricketts | Tosaint Ricketts | Ronnie Ricketts | Ricketts's Circus | Michael Ricketts | Howard Taylor Ricketts | Dick Ricketts |
Two years later, they settled in Carmel, California, where their friends and neighbors included photographer Edward Weston, poet Robinson Jeffers, philosopher/mythologist Joseph Campbell, dancer/choreographer Jean Erdman, nutritionist/author Adelle Davis, poet George Sterling, short story writer/poet Clark Ashton Smith, marine biologist/ecologist Ed Ricketts and novelists John Steinbeck and Henry Miller.