Talkington was born in Texas, and attended Tyler Junior College before transferring to the University of Kansas on a football and baseball scholarship; he graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1951.
After gaining his B.A., he entered the University of Kansas School of Law, graduating there in 1954.
[2] Talkington served in the U.S. Army counterintelligence corps during the Korean War.
[3] He worked as a lawyer in Iola, Kansas; he was in private practice and also served as the county attorney for Allen County, Kansas as well as city attorney for several nearby towns.
After his time in the Senate, Talkington was a member of the Kansas Board of Regents from 1996 to 1999.