Richard Sherman, one half of the prolific, award-winning brother who shaped the childhoods of millions with such memorable songs as Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the most played song on the planet, “It’s a Small World,” has died. He was 95 years old.
Sherman, along with his late brother Robert, won two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash hit Mary Poppins, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Original Score for a Motion Picture or Television Song. Robert Sherman died in London in 2012 at the age of 86.
The Walt Disney Company announced that Sherman died Saturday at a Los Angeles hospital from old age. In a tribute posted on its website, the company said, “Generations of moviegoers and theme park guests have been introduced to the Disney world through the Sherman brothers’ majestic, timeless songs. Even today, their work preserves the lyrics that are the quintessential Walt Disney.”
As co-writers and composers, they have worked on hundreds of films, including Winnie the Pooh, Slippers and a Rose, Snoopy: Come Home, Charlotte’s Web, and Lassie. Their Broadway musicals include Over Here! in 1974 and the mid-2000s stage versions of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
“Something good happens when we sit down and work together,” Richard Sherman told The Associated Press in a joint interview in 2005. “We’ve been doing that our whole lives. We’ve been working together since college.”
Their accolades include 23 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were the only Americans to win the Moscow Film Festival top award in 1973 for the film “Tom Sawyer,” and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded them the National Medal of Arts, acknowledging that their music has “brought joy to millions.”
Most of the songs the Sherman Brothers write are not only catchy and playful, but also appealing to a wide range of age groups, something they learned from Disney.
“He once said to us, when we were starting out, ‘Don’t insult kids. Don’t write in a condescending way. And don’t just write for adults.’ So we write for grandpas and 4-year-olds and everyone in between, and we all see on a different level,” Richard Sherman said.
The Sherman brothers began a decade-long partnership with Disney in the 1960s after writing hit pop songs such as “Tall Paul” for former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and “You’re Sixteen,” later recorded by Ringo Starr.
They have written over 150 songs for Disney, including the soundtracks to such films as The Sword and the Stone, It’s Tough Being Dad, Bedclothes and Broomsticks, The Jungle Book, The Prince and the Tigger Movie.
“It’s a Small World” is thought to be the most played song in the world, sung by animatronic figures representing world cultures to tourists on boat rides at Disney theme parks. It debuted in a pavilion ride at the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair.
The brothers credit their songwriting father, Al Sherman, with encouraging them to write songs and inspiring their love of singing with words. His songs include “You Gotta Be a Football Hero,” “(What Do We Do on a) Due Due Day” and “On the Beach at Bali Bali.” His sons popularized the terms “phantasmagorical” and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
The Sherman brothers would brainstorm songs together, then improve and try to outdo each other. “Being brothers, we kind of take shortcuts for each other,” Richard Sherman said. “We look at each other and we know, ‘Hey, you’ve got something good.'”
Away from the piano, the pair raised families and pursued their own interests, but lived near each other in Beverly Hills and continued to work well into their 70s. When “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was brought to Broadway in 2005, the pair added new lyrics and four new songs.
Richard Sherman is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children, Gregory and Victoria, as well as his daughter, Linda, from a previous marriage.
A private funeral will be held on Friday, and Disney said details of the memorial will be announced at a later date.
Asked about their largely shunned sibling rivalry despite years of estrangement, Richard Sherman is at once philosophical, moving and tongue-in-cheek, much like the trunk-full of songs he wrote with his brother.
“We are human beings. We have our weaknesses and frailties. But we love and respect each other very much,” he said. “I’m happy that he’s a successful man. That makes me a successful man.”
