Raconteur, bon vivant and man about town, real estate broker John Tarlton spotted the withering beauty of Atlanta's intown neighborhoods and recruited a merry band of 14 West Realty agents to help save them.

He bought 14 West in the 1970s, when Virginia-Highland, Morningside and other now-highly desirable areas were languishing.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

John Tarlton holds a cake celebrating his success at 14 West Realty. He bought 14 West in the 1970s, when Virginia-Highland, Morningside and other now-highly desirable areas were languishing.

"John had to talk people into moving into the area," said former agent Mary Torre Kelly of Atlanta.

Some of it was visionary on his part. Some of it was merely a reflection of his own urbane tastes.

"We used to joke that we got a nosebleed whenever we went outside the perimeter," Ms. Kelly said.

John Peeple Tarlton, 83, died of complications from a stroke Monday at his Atlanta residence. The body was cremated. A memorial service will be held later. A. S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.

The North Carolina native moved to Atlanta in the late 1960s but milked his high-pitched Carolina drawl for the rest of his life. He'd pour on the Southern charm with potential clients, with fellow real estate junkies, with anyone within earshot.

Best friend Ellen Zellner of Atlanta said she was a prim and proper young lady when she signed on as Mr. Tarlton's closing attorney. When she warned him she was a square, he said he would help round the edges.

Once when they were dining out together, Mr. Tarlton boldly strolled over to a dessert cart and snatched a chocolate eclair for himself.

"I just couldn't believe it, and I was so afraid we were all going to get in trouble," Ms. Zellner said. "And the more embarrassed I got, the more he loved it."

"Any time we went out together, it had to be all about John," she said. "Some of my friends didn't like going out with him because he stole the show ... but I always still took him."

Irrepressible buddies, they snapped up season tickets to Theatre of the Stars, booked cheap rooms in New York every year so they could take in Broadway shows and frightened the locals whenever they drove to the beach.

On one memorable beach trip, Mr. Tarlton racked up 10 traffic tickets on the way — three for each of the three times he was stopped for speeding, plus one last ticket when he crossed a final bridge.

"Whenever I got behind the wheel, he'd say, 'Burn it,' " Ms. Zellner said. His driving record was so bad he considered renewing his license under a different name to shake off his wayward past.

Behind his breezy wit was a razor-sharp real estate acumen. A pioneering advocate of intown neighborhoods, he personally bought and sold one home after another and remade countless others into charming jewels.

At 14 West, his staff largely consisted of renegades like himself. He hired a pregnant woman after others had turned her down, then rigged an infant seat in a desk drawer where the rest of the staff could watch her baby when she went out on calls.

He threw still-talked-about parties, owned bustling retail strips in Virginia-Highland and Morningside, and was part-owner in the now-defunct Ocean Wave Cafe on North Highland Avenue. He greeted customers like old friends and made all the desserts, including his famous peach cobbler.

"It was kind of like having a party at his house every night," Ms. Zellner said. "We didn't last but 15 months, but we had a good time."

"You would have loved him," she said. "He would have made you laugh."

Survivors include a sister, Frances T. Webb of Shelby, N.C.; and a brother, Ward Tarlton of Wadesboro, N.C.