Herman Tarnower (March 18, 1910 – March 10, 1980) was a cardiologist and the author (with Samm Sinclair Baker) of the bestselling diet book The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet. He was shot to death in 1980 by Jean Harris, who was convicted of his murder after a three-month trial in White Plains in 1981.

Tarnower was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrants Dora and Harry Tarnower. He had three sisters, and attended Syracuse University, becoming a medical doctor specializing in cardiology.

Tarnower established a cardiology practice in the Scarsdale and White Plains areas of New York. During World War II he joined the US Military Corps and was promoted to major. After the war, he founded the Scarsdale Medical Center and was highly regarded among his colleagues and patients. He was a relentless social climber who held elaborate dinner parties and cultivated a circle of wealthy friends and patients.

Friends from the publishing world suggested to Tarnower that he write a book documenting the diet he recommended to his patients. The basic nutritional philosophy of cutting down on carbohydrates, eating plenty of oily fish, lean meat, fruit and vegetables and having a low intake of fats, salt and sweets was quite revolutionary at the time and when The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet was published in 1979, it became an immediate bestseller.

Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji;Gujarati:કૃષ્ણા પંડિત ભાનજી; 31 December 1943) is an English actor who has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also known for his performances in the films Schindler's List (1993), Sexy Beast (2000), House of Sand and Fog (2003), and Hugo (2011).

Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in Snainton, North Yorkshire, England, the son of Anna Lyna Mary (née Goodman), an actress and model, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor.

Kingsley's father, born in Kenya, is of Gujarati Indian descent; Kingsley's paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to England at the age of 14. Kingsley's mother, born out of wedlock, was "loath to speak of her background". Kingsley's maternal grandfather was believed by the family to have been a Russian or German Jew, while Kingsley's maternal grandmother was English and worked in the garment district of East London.