Herman Tarnower | |
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| Born | Herman Tarnower (1910-03-18)March 18, 1910 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 10, 1980(1980-03-10) (aged 69) Purchase, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Education | Syracuse University |
| Occupation(s) | Cardiologist, writer |
| Notable work | The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet |
| Partner | Jean Harris (1966–1980) |
Herman Tarnower (March 18, 1910 – March 10, 1980) was an Americancardiologist and co-author (withSamm Sinclair Baker) of the bestselling diet bookThe Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet (1978), which promoted ahigh-proteinlow-carbohydrate fad diet known as theScarsdale diet.[1] On March 10, 1980, just eight days before his 70th birthday, Tarnower was shot dead byJean Harris. Harris was convicted of his murder at trial inWhite Plains, New York, in 1981.
Herman Tarnower was born inBrooklyn, New York, toJewish immigrants Harry and Dora Tarnower.[1] He attendedSyracuse University, where he obtained hisM.D. in 1933. As a physician he specialized incardiology, establishing a practice in theScarsdale andWhite Plains areas of New York.[1] DuringWorld War II, Tarnower joined theUnited States Army Medical Corps and was promoted to the rank ofmajor. After the war, he initiated the Scarsdale Medical Center and became regarded among his colleagues and patients. From 1975 until his death, Tarnower was clinical professor of medicine at theNew York Medical College.[1]
The Scarsdale diet's idea of reducingcarbohydrates, eating plenty ofoily fish and lean meat with fruit and vegetables and having a low intake of fats, salt and sweets was novel at the time, and Tarnower's book promoting it became an immediate bestseller when it was published in 1979. However, the diet was criticized byHenry Buchwald and others for "serious nutritional deficiencies".[2] Negative effects of the diet includeconstipation,nausea, weakness andbad breath due toketosis.[2] In present times, the Scarsdale diet is often listed as an example of afad diet.[3][4]
Tarnower began a relationship with divorcéeJean Harris in 1966.[5]: 2 A lifelong bachelor, he continued to date other women during the course of their relationship. In 1979, he was having an affair with Lynne Tryforos, who worked as a secretary in his office. This caused tension between him and Harris, although Harris stated that the affair with Tryforos had been taking place for the preceding few years.
On March 10, 1980, Harris drove from theMadeira School inMcLean, Virginia, to Tarnower's home inPurchase, New York, with a.32 caliber pistol in her possession. At trial, she stated she had planned to commitsuicide after talking in person with Tarnower one last time. When she arrived at the house, however, she noticed Tryforos' lingerie in the bedroom. An argument ensued, and Tarnower allegedly said to her, "Jesus, Jean, you're crazy! Get out of here!" Harris shot Tarnower four times at close range, killing him. She was arrested and tried forsecond-degree murder, claiming at the three-month trial that the gun had discharged accidentally while Tarnower tried to wrestle it away from her. The jury did not believe her testimony and convicted her of murder in 1981. Judge Russell Leggett sentenced Harris to the minimum of 15-years-to-life in prison. However, she was grantedclemency byNew York GovernorMario Cuomo in 1992 andparoled in 1993.[6]
Tarnower was interred on a sloping hill in the Larchmont Temple section of Mount Hope Cemetery inHastings-on-Hudson, New York.
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