Richard M. Sherman, one half of a prolific songwriting duo with his brother Robert Sherman, has died at the age of 95.
of The Walt Disney Company The company announced the news on its website on Saturday.
“Disney legend Richard M. Sherman, one half of the Academy Award-winning composition team The Sherman Brothers (with late Disney legend Robert B. Sherman), passed away on Saturday, May 25, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills from a history of age-related illness. He was 95 years old,” the statement read.
It continues: “Generations of moviegoers and theme park guests have been introduced to the Disney world through the Sherman Brothers’ epic, timeless songs, and to this day, the duo’s work remains the quintessential lyric voice of Walt Disney.”
Richard M. Sherman, one half of the prolific and award-winning songwriting duo The Sherman Brothers, has died at the age of 95. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for AFI)
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Sherman and his brother Robert won two Academy Awards and a Grammy Award for their work on Mary Poppins, including Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” Disney’s statement also said the film’s theme song, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” was a 1965 hit and “Feed the Birds” was one of Walt Disney’s favorites.
He and his brothers also composed music for the theme park, including “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow,” “The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” and “It’s a Small World.”
Born in New York City on June 12, 1928, Sherman and his brothers followed in the footsteps of their father, lyricist Al Sherman. The family moved to Beverly Hills in 1937, and he enrolled at Bard College, where he majored in music.
He was drafted into the United States Army and served as conductor of the Army Band and Glee Club from 1953 to 1955.
Sherman and his brothers won two Academy Awards for their performances in Mary Poppins, winning Best Original Score and Best Original Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”). (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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According to the Disney website, Gene Autry first recorded a Sherman Brothers song in 1951 with “Gold Can Buy You Anything But Love,” and the brothers got their big break when Mouseketeer Annette Funicello recorded their song “Tall Paul.”
At Disney, they composed more than 150 songs, including soundtracks for films such as The Sword and Stone, It’s Tough Being Dad, Bedheads and Broomsticks, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats and The Tigger Movie.
In the 1970s, the duo left Disney to compose music for other family films, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Charlotte’s Web, and The Slipper and the Rose.
“Something good happens when we sit down and work together,” Richard Sherman told The Associated Press in 2005, along with his brother. “We’ve always done that. We’ve been working together since college.”
Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. (Courtesy of Songwriters Hall of Fame’s L. Busacca/WireImage)
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Robert died in London in 2012.
The Sherman Brothers’ other honors include 23 gold and platinum albums, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and the National Medal of Arts awarded to them by President George W. Bush in 2008 for music that has “brought joy to millions of people.”
They also hold the honor of being the only Americans to win the Moscow Film Festival’s top prize in 1973 for their musical production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Disney confirmed that a private funeral will take place on Friday, May 31, followed by a “memorial service” at a later date.
Disney confirmed that a private funeral for Sherman will be held on Friday, May 31, followed by a “memorial service” at a later date. (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for the Walt Disney Family Museum)
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“Richard is survived by his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth, his son Gregory, grandsons William and Matthew, daughter Victoria Wolf, son-in-law Doug Wolf, and grandchildren Mandy and Anthony. He is also survived by his daughter from a previous marriage, Linda Rothstein, her two children, and three grandchildren,” the company wrote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
