Baltimore Orioles

Richard G. Tarlow was born on May 6, 1944 in New Rochelle, New York where his family lived until he was 15 years old when his father moved the family to Reseda, California.  

Tarlow’s dad and uncle were in the meat business and owned Zion National Meat Company, which was tough work. Therefore, his dad sought an easier and more successful life starting an insurance business in the San Fernando Valley.  

Tarlow attended Reseda High School and graduated on June 15, 1962, but not before lettering in varsity baseball playing first base and catcher. Tarlow was such an excellent player that he received contract offers from the Dodgers, Angels and the Baltimore Orioles.  

He ultimately signed with Baltimore and played over 130 games of minor league play until he was horribly spiked in a home plate collision while playing a Yankee farm team.  

Tarlow returned home on crutches and it seemed that his baseball career was regrettably over.

U.S. Marine Corps

In 1965, the Orioles invited Tarlow to rejoin the team, but he coincidentally received Uncle Sam’s dreaded greeting letter which prompted the Orioles’ general manager to urge him to avoid the Army and join the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.  

Richard G. Tarlow M-16

Tarlow took Boot Camp Training in the summer of 1965 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego and at its conclusion he signed on for four years of active duty.  

Next, Tarlow took infantry training at Camp Pendleton where he learned to fire every Marine Corps weapon used by infantry grunts.

Following Camp Pendleton, he opted to become an Air Traffic Controller and was assigned to Naval Air Station Glynco, Georgia for six months of intense training.

Afterwards, Tarlow was assigned to a holding area for three months at Memphis, Tennessee, before moving on to Beaufort, South Carolina for two and a half years. Here, he qualified to operate air radar scopes and air control towers.

Tarlow was promoted to corporal as he received deployment orders in late 1967 to Khe Sahn, South Vietnam. However, new orders took him to Danang instead.

He was soon assigned to the air traffic control tower at Marble Mountain’s base near Danang, which was the busiest military airfield in South Vietnam.

Mortar and Rocket Attacks

Tarlow’s control tower was an obvious target for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Regulars who routinely fired mortars and rockets into Danang’s air base wrecking numerous aircraft.

He and his fellow Marines had many close calls, so much so that they built a heavily fortified underground bunker nearby.

Richard G. Tarlow USMC Patch

Tarlow recalled the night that the NVA and Viet Cong attempted to overrun their airfield, but thanks to an AC-47 Spooky gun ship, nicknamed “Puff the Magic Dragon” firing its mini machine guns, the enemy attack failed.  

Every fifth round was a red tracer and when those mini-guns fired, it looked like a stream of thunderous fire roaring like a T-Rex from the dark sky. It’s hard to imagine being on the receiving end of Spooky’s wrath.  

Tarlow’s base camp was very close to the South China Sea and provided the Marines chances to enjoy the beach, but on one occasion it almost proved fatal.

He and a few pals were jogging on the beach when a NVA sniper zeroed in on them firing shots that barely missed resulting in the group of Marines to hustle for cover.

On another occasion, the NVA fired several six-foot-long 122mm rockets with 18-pound warheads into Tarlow’s area blasting shrapnel everywhere but narrowly missing him.   

Though he was cut by broken glass, he turned down a Purple Heart medal.  

“It was just another day in a life at Marble Mountain,” said Tarlow.

Richard G. Tarlow USMC Commendation Medal

Honorable Discharge

On March 1, 1969, Tarlow was promoted to Sergeant E-5 and he was Honorably Discharged Sept. 17, 1969, though he considered re-enlisting.  

The veteran returned home and chose to drop his baseball dream to instead pursue a law degree at Southwestern University of Law.

During his college years, he worked for the United Parcel Service and in June 1976, he passed the bar exam becoming a full fledged attorney.

During his 27-year law career, the veteran handled many unique high profile cases including over 50 jury trials and over 250 trials altogether. One such jury trial involved a 405 Freeway horrific automobile accident which required Tarlow to recruit a number of expert witnesses.  

“This trial resulted in one of LA County’s 50 largest verdicts,” said Tarlow. “I have to say that during my unusual career I handled a host of unique cases of which I am very proud.”

Love Story

In 1978, Tarlow met the love of his life during an odd Van Nuys Courthouse hearing.  

Richard G. Tarlow Wedding

As one of several attorney’s, he had a case involving a young active duty U.S. Marine who visited a nudist beach in Summerland, California.  

This Marine met a couple of young women who unbeknownst to him were lesbians and while the three of them were naked to the world, the young man made a pass at one of the ladies which stirred up a hornets nest.  

When he went for his clothes to depart, they wouldn’t give him his clothes and their Doberman Pinscher became a threat so the Marine retreated to his vehicle returning with a handgun killing the dog.

Lesley State was a spectator during the hearing and when Tarlow spotted her, he was instantly fascinated.  

He obtained her phone number through a mutual friend, but it took two months before he gained enough courage to call her. Their first date was a fine dinner at the Charthouse Restaurant as he aimed to impress State.  

On another date, State invited Tarlow to her home and prepared him a sumptuous filet mignon and lobster feast. It’s said, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and that old adage held true here.

Tarlow and State continued seeing each other as he periodically hinted marriage, though Lesley felt he was presumptuous.  

In February 1979, after State took a secretive weekend trip, and purposely keeping Richard in the dark, he recognized that he better get off the dime and formally propose marriage or risk losing her.  

Soon, the veteran proposed and on June 10, 1979 they were married.

Two years later their son Darren was born, then Jared in 1985 and next came Samantha in 1989.  

Darren is a marketing director for Impress Communication, Inc. and Jared is a television film editor while Samantha attends College of the Canyon pursuing a career as a Child Development Specialist.

State is a nurse practitioner for the University of Southern California’s Keck Medical Center.

Murder and the Marine

Richard G. Tarlow Murder & The Marine

In 2012, Tarlow became an author, writing his first book, “Murder and the Marine.” The book is based on a true story of a horrific homicide case that he doggedly defended.  

The jealous perpetrator was found guilty in the cold blooded killing of his gorgeous girlfriend with a shotgun and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.  

Tarlow’s next book is based on five of his highly unusual cases, which is in progress and expected to be published in 2019.

In early 2013, Tarlow became a docent at Ronald Reagan Library standing watch at several locations, answering questions and leading tours throughout the library.

“I receive tremendous gratification teaching school students about President Reagan’s amazing library,” said the veteran.

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