Chili Palmer and Get Shorty

I was watching Get Shorty the other day and noticed one of the actors names was Chili Palmer - the name of the shylock in the film played by John Travolta. I can see three possibilities here:
1. Chili Palmer is/was a real person and a shylock and this film is adapted from and based on a real story.
2. Chili Palmer is an actor and they simply named the character after the actor to put the question into people's heads.
3. Chili Palmer isn't really anyone at all. The name was put in there just for ****s and giggles. An alternative to this is that the producers told an actor, "If you want to be in this film, your name will appear in the credits as 'Chili Palmer'."

I'm curious if anyone knows anything about this.

 

Doesn't look like it...

 

I just saw this movie for the first time last night on satelite. You'll just have to ask Elmore Leonard where the name came from.

 

Maybe Leonard had a cameo in the flim and credited himself as Chili Palmer. Has anyone read the sequel to Get Shorty?


Oh, Rum Punch rules!