Robert B Sherman, one of the most talented men who put words in the warbling mouths of Disney characters,died yesterday at the age of 86.
Sherman and his brother Richard were born in New York and raised between there and in Los Angeles. Music was in their blood from the start thanks to their father, Tin Pan Alley composer Al Sherman. Robert showed plenty of talent for music and other creative arts from an early age, excelling at the violin and piano, as well as painting and poetry. In his years at Beverly Hills High school, Sherman was known for writing and producing radio and stage plays, and won a citation from the US War Department for helping to raise thousands of dollars in War Bonds in the early days of the US involvement in World War II.
The conflict would be a big influence on the young Sherman. In 1943, he obtained his parents’ permission to join up at age 17, a year early. In April 1945, he led a squad of men into the Dachau concentration camp shortly after the German military fled. In the course of his service, he was shot in the knee, forcing him to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. He recuperated in the UK and became fond of the country, eventually returning there to live in 2002.
On his return to the States, Sherman studied at Bard College in New York. Within two years he was collaborating with his brother as songwriters, and ended up founding the music publishing company Music World Corporation. "Something good happens when we sit down together and work," Richard Sherman told the Associated Press in 2005. "We've been doing it all our lives. Practically since college we've been working together."
After penning several pop hits, the pair caught the eye (and ear) of Walt Disney, who hired them as staff songwriters for his studio. They went on to create numerous famous tunes, including It’s A Small World (After All), which was originally crafted for the 1964 New York World’s Fair and has since gone on to become a Disney theme park staple.
Their other notable tunes included Feed The Birds, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Chim Chim Cher-ee for Mary Poppins, which won them two Oscars. They also worked on such films as The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, B****edknobs and Broomsticks and 1977’s Winnie The Pooh. The residents of Hundred Acre Wood also benefitted from their talents when they returned to write the song score for 2000’s The Tigger Movie.
Outside of the Mouse House, the pair became famous for musicals, pop hits and for writing the songs in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, for which they wrote additional songs when it hit the London stage as a musical in 2002.
Sherman is survived by his brother and four children, plus generations of fans who loved his music.