The Walt Disney Company has been leading the tributes to Richard M. Sherman following his death at the age of 95 due to ‘age-related illness’.
Half of one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in the history of Hollywood, Richard M. together with his brother Robert B. were regarded as an integral part of the Disney success story.
The Sherman Brothers created more movie musical songs and acclaimed film scores than any other writing team in Hollywood history. Their music provided the soundtrack for classics including Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Jungle Book and Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
In a tribute posted on the Disney Company’s website, Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said: “Richard Sherman was the embodiment of what it means to be a Disney Legend, creating along with his brother Robert the beloved classics that have become a cherished part of the soundtrack of our lives.
“From films like Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book to attractions like ‘it’s a small world’, the music of the Sherman Brothers has captured the hearts of generations of audiences. We are forever grateful for the mark Richard left on the world, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family.”
Pixar Animation Studios’ chief creative officer Pete Docter added: “You don’t get songs like ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ without a genuine love of life, which Richard passed on to everyone lucky enough to be around him. Even in his nineties, he had more energy and enthusiasm than anyone, and I always left renewed by Richard’s infectious joy for life.”
The tributes also included a contribution from film historian, author and educator Leonard Maltin, who said: “The Sherman Brothers were professional optimists who found a perfect patron in Walt Disney. Their songs had an upbeat outlook that spilt over into Richard’s life, which was not without its troubles and challenges.
“He was especially proud that he and his brother carried on a songwriting career like their father, who encouraged them early on.”
Throughout an incredible 65-year career, Richard M. Sherman received nine Academy Award nominations (winning two Oscars for his work on the 1964 timeless Mary Poppins), won three Grammy Awards and received 24 gold and platinum albums. His career stretched from the early days of rock ‘n’ roll (with such hits as ‘You’re Sixteen’) through television to Broadway and Hollywood.
Born on 12 June 1928, Richard and his brother Robert followed in the footsteps of their father, Tin Pan Alley writer Al Sherman, the writer of hundreds of hit songs for legendary artists including Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby.
In 1951, the singing cowboy, Gene Autry became the first person to record a Sherman Brothers song – ‘Gold Can Buy You Anything But Love’. The songwriters’ big break however wouldn’t come until seven years later, when Mouseketeer (and fellow future Disney legend) Annette Funicello recorded their song ‘Tall Paul’ which peaked at number seven in the US charts, selling more than 700,000 singles.
The success of the song caught the attention of Walt Disney, who hired the Sherman Brothers as staff songwriters for The Walt Disney Studios. Their first assignment was to write a song for the made-for-television movie The Horsemasters (1961), starring Funicello.
In the same year the Sherman Brothers’ work would feature in hit films The Absent-Minded Professor and The Parent Trap followed by Summer Magic and The Sword in the Stone in 1963, and Mary Poppins in 1964 which earned them two Oscars – for the score and for the song ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’.
They would ultimately write more than 200 songs for Disney across 27 films and 24 television productions, That Darn Cat! (1965), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966), The Jungle Book (1967), The Happiest Millionaire (1967), The Aristocats (1970) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
They also contributed music for a number of Disney’s theme park attractions around the world, including ‘There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow’, ‘The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room’ and ‘It’s a Small World’.
The Sherman Brothers’ first non-Disney film was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968, followed by Snoopy Come Home in 1972, Charlotte’s Web in 1973, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1973, Huckleberry Finn in 1974 and The Slipper and the Rose in 1976.
In the early 1980s, the brothers returned to Disney to write songs including ‘One Little Spark’ and ‘Meet the World’ for the EPCOT Center (now known as EPCOT) and Tokyo Disneyland.
The Sherman Brothers made history in 1973 by becoming the only Americans ever to win first prize at the Moscow Film Festival – the Russian equivalent to the Oscar – for their film musical The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which featured a script and songs by the pair.
In 1992, Walt Disney Records released a retrospective collection of their music, ‘The Sherman Brothers: Disney’s Supercalifragilistic Songwriting Team’. In 1998 the brothers returned to Disney to compose music for The Tigger Movie and also released their autobiography, ‘Walt’s Time: From Before to Beyond‘. A second compilation of hits, ‘The Sherman Brothers Songbook’, was released in 2009, coinciding with the release of the documentary film The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story (directed by Richard’s son, Gregory V. Sherman, in collaboration with Robert’s son, Jeffrey Sherman).
In 2002 their much-loved movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was transformed into a stage musical for which the brothers provided a reworked score and six new songs.
In 2005, Richard and Robert were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Three years later, the brothers were awarded the National Medal of the Arts, ‘for unforgettable songs and optimistic lyrics that have brought magic to the screen and stage. The Sherman Brothers’ music has helped bring joy to millions’.
Richard and fellow award-winning composer John Debney collaborated on the song ‘Make Way for Tomorrow Today’ for Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 2 in 2010. In the same year, The Walt Disney Company marked the Sherman Brothers’ musical contributions to Disney Parks worldwide with the installation of a ‘window’ on Main Street, U.S.A. (at Disneyland Park in California), which states: ‘Two Brothers Tunemakers – Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman: We’ll Write Your Tunes For a Song’.
Robert Sherman died in 2012, a year before the brothers were immortalised on film by BJ Novak and Jason Schwartzman in Saving Mr Banks. Five years later, The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, rededicated Stage A as the Sherman Brothers Stage. At the time, Richard said: “It’s been a joy, it’s been an honour, and it’s been a privilege to work here at The Walt Disney Studios, working for Walt Disney and for all the brilliant, brilliant people with whom Bob and I associated through the years.”
Following the loss of his brother, Richard continued to work with Disney, providing new lyrics for the live-action The Jungle Book in 2016 and in 2018 composing three new songs for the film Christopher Robin and also appearing on screen. Most recently, Richard wrote a new song (with composer Fabrizio Mancinelli) for Disney legend Andreas Deja’s 2023 animated short, Mushka. The song, entitled ‘Mushka’s Lullabye’, was sung by acclaimed soprano Holly Sedillos.
In 2023 when Walt Disney Animation Studios traced its 100-year history in the short film Once Upon a Studio, Richard returned to Walt Disney’s office – the same place where the brothers would often perform ‘Feed the Birds’ for the studio boss on Friday afternoons – to play the piano once again in a key sequence.
Richard is survived by his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth, their son Gregory and daughter Victoria, and grandchildren William, Matthew, Mandy and Anthony. He is also survived by his daughter from a previous marriage, Lynda Rothstein, and her two children and three grandchildren.
Disney will announce plans for a celebration of Richard M. Sherman’s life at a later date.
Angela Thomas
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