Sherwood Tarlow

[Scott Fybush]

On 6/23/2012 11:57 PM, Donna Halper wrote:
> I was just doing some research on a couple of Boston stations, and came
> upon a name I hadn't thought about for a while-- Sherwood "Woody"
> Tarlow, who owned the old WHIL for a while (and also WARE, if I am
> recalling correctly).  I believe he died earlier this year-- in
> February-- but I don't recall seeing an obit anywhere.  Controversial
> guy-- accused of corruption and conflict of interest, got a judgeship
> basically for being a friend of the governor, etc.  But I would have
> expected somebody to run an obit.  Did I miss it?

I ran an obit in the March 19 NERW:

http://www.fybush.com/nerw-31912-mega-consolidation-in-canadas-biggest-markets/

"And while “Woody Tarlow” is far from a household name in Boston radio, 
it’s a name that should be remembered this week, as we receive delayed 
news of his death February 26 in Palm Desert, California at age 87.

Judge Sherwood Tarlow (to give him his full due) served as a probate 
court judge in Dukes County (Martha’s Vineyard) from 1964 until 1974, 
but we remember him here for something else he did during his days as a 
lawyer: in January 1952, he put a new radio station on the air in 
Medford. WHIL began as a daytimer on 1540, but it soon relocated to 1430 
on the dial, spawning an FM sister station, WHIL-FM 107.9, six years later.

The Tarlow Association continued to own the stations for two more 
decades, flipping them to easy listening as WWEL/WWEL-FM before selling 
them in 1979 to Cecil Heftel, who of course famously flipped WWEL-FM to 
disco as “Kiss 108.”

In addition to the Medford stations, Tarlow also owned WARE (1250 Ware), 
WLOB (1310 Portland ME) and several southern stations before selling his 
radio interests and pursuing another career in banking. Tarlow was also 
very active in charities for the blind and vision-impaired, having lost 
much of his own eyesight in the years after his World War II service."