He has done additional graduate work at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.
He was Majority Leader from 1987[2] to 1993, and was Acting Speaker for 3 days in 1991 after Mel Miller lost his seat upon a felony conviction until the election of Saul Weprin.
[3] He was Chairman of the Assembly's Health Committee from 1979 to 1987, and spearheaded efforts to reform the Medicaid program while expanding eligibility for pregnant women and children.
Tallon was President of the United Hospital Fund of New York, the nation's oldest federated charity.
[4] Tallon died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Endicott, New York on July 9, 2024, at the age of 82.