Disney Wiki
Advertisement
Disney Wiki

Richard Morton Sherman was an American composer, lyricist, screenwriter, publisher, songwriter, and music director who specialized in writing for musical films with his brother, Robert B. Sherman, known as the Sherman Brothers.

Some of the Sherman Brothers' best-known writing included the songs from Disney's Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, the Winnie the Pooh franchise, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the Disney theme park songs "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room", "It's a Small World", "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", "Miracles From Molecules", and "One Little Spark".

Early life[]

Richard Morton Sherman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Rosa and Al Sherman. Together with his older brother, Robert, The Sherman Brothers eventually followed in their songwriting father's footsteps to form a long-lasting songwriting partnership.

Following seven years of frequent cross-country moves, the Sherman family finally settled down in Beverly Hills, California in 1937. Throughout Richard's years at Beverly Hills High School, he became fascinated with music and studied several instruments, including the flute, piccolo, and piano.

At his 1946 graduation from Beverly Hills High School, Richard Sherman and André Previn played a musical duet. Previn played piano and Sherman played flute. Coincidentally, in 1965 both composers (along with Richard's brother, Robert) won Oscars in music categories for different films.

At Bard College, Sherman majored in Music, writing numerous sonatas and "art songs." His ambition to write the "Great American Symphony" eventually led him to write songs. Within two years of graduating, Richard and Robert Sherman began writing songs together on a challenge from their father, songwriter Al Sherman.

Songwriting career[]

In 1965, the Sherman Brothers won 2 Academy Awards for Mary Poppins, including "Feed the Birds", "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", and the Oscar winner, "Chim Chim Cher-ee". Since Mary Poppins' premiere, Sherman has subsequently earned 9 Academy Award nominations, 2 Grammy Awards, 4 Grammy Award nominations, and 23 gold and platinum albums.

Robert and Richard Sherman worked directly for Walt Disney until Disney's death in 1966. Since leaving the company, the brothers worked freelance as songwriters on scores of motion pictures, television shows, theme park exhibits, and stage musicals.

Their first non-Disney assignment came with Albert R. Broccoli's motion picture production Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968 which garnered the brothers their third Academy Award Nomination. In 1973, the Sherman Brothers made history by becoming the only Americans ever to win First Prize at the Moscow Film Festival for Tom Sawyer for which they also authored the screenplay.

The Slipper and the Rose was picked to be the Royal Command Performance of the year and was attended by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. A modern musical adaptation of the classic Cinderella story, Slipper also features both song-score and screenplay by the Sherman Brothers. That same year the Sherman Brothers received their star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame" directly across from Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Later career[]

In 2000, the Sherman Brothers wrote songs for Disney's blockbuster film The Tigger Movie (2000). This film marked the brothers' first major motion picture for the Walt Disney Company in over 28 years.

In 2003, four Sherman Brothers' musicals ranked in the "Top 10 Favorite Children's Films of All Time" in a (British) nationwide poll reported by the BBC. The Jungle Book (1967) ranked at #7, Mary Poppins (1964) ranked at #8, and The Aristocats (1970) ranked at #9.

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's musical production of Mary Poppins made its world premiere at the Prince Edward Theatre in December 2004 and features the Sherman Brothers' classic songs.

During a London press junket promoting the 40th anniversary DVD re-release of The Jungle Book, Robert and Richard Sherman were witnessed by press working on a new song for Inkas in the same Brown's Hotel room, where The Jungle Book was originally penned by British writer, Rudyard Kipling, over a hundred years earlier.

In May 2009, a documentary called The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story was released. In October 2009, Disney released a 59 track, two CD compendium of their work for the studio spanning forty-two years. The CD is entitled: "The Sherman Brothers Songbook".

On March 11, 2010, the Sherman Brothers were presented with a Window on Main Street Disneyland in Anaheim, California in honor of their contribution to Disney theme parks. On May 17, 2010 the "Career Achievement Award" at The Theatre Museum's 2010 Awards Gala.

On January 10, 2014, in a surprise unveiling, the backstage dressing room at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood, CA was formally dedicated the Sherman Brothers Dressing Room. Also in 2014, he and his brother's songs and life stories were tributed in a stage musical called A Spoonful of Sherman. In 2015 an original cast recording of the show was released. The show was revived several times over the next few years and it toured the UK and Ireland in 2018.

In 2015, Sherman composed a new song "A Kiss Goodnight" as the exit music for the Disneyland Forever fireworks show that ran during the park's 60th anniversary celebration. The songs's title references Walt Disney's idea that the Disneyland fireworks show were "a kiss goodnight".

Sherman contributed new lyrics for the 2016 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book.

Debuting at the 2017 D23 Expo, Disney Editions published the picture book: A Kiss Goodnight (ISBN 978-1484782286) written by Sherman and illustrated by Floyd Norman.[2]

In 2018, Sherman marked his 90th birthday with a star-studded retrospective celebration of the Sherman Brothers songbook at the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, CA.[3]

Sherman contributed three new songs for the live-action Winnie the Pooh film Christopher Robin and performs "Busy Doing Nothing" in an end-credits scene. On July 30, 2018, Soundstage A at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA, where many of the Sherman Brothers songs were recorded, was officially renamed the Sherman Brothers Stage.[4]

In 2023, for the short film Once Upon a Studio, Sherman recorded a version of "Feed the Birds" on the piano in Walt's office for a scene in which Mickey looks at a portrait of Walt.

He was played by Jason Schwartzman in Saving Mr. Banks and was the music consultant for the film.

On May 25, 2024, Sherman passed away at his home in Beverly Hills from age-related illness. He was 95 years old.

Roles[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Sherman, along with his brother, was inducted as a Disney Legend in 1990. Their plaques are presented together on the same post at the Team -- Disney Michael D. Eisner Building.
  • Sherman is the first songwriter to return in a Disney live-action adaptation of an animated film/franchise, followed by Alan Menken.
  • For the 2010 superhero film Iron Man 2, Sherman wrote the theme song for the Stark Expo, "Make Way for Tomorrow Today", which has been noted for its similarities to "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow", also written by Sherman and his brother, Robert. The Expo itself is noted for many references to Walt Disney's involvement with the 1964 Disney World's Fair, especially the Carousel of Progress.
  • He is not to be confused with the NFL cornerback of the same name for the Seattle Seahawks.

References[]

Wikipedia
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Richard M. Sherman. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.


v - e - d
Walt Disney Animation Studios - Transparent Logo
1920s—1970s
Disney's Nine Old Men: Milt KahlFrank ThomasOllie JohnstonLes ClarkJohn LounsberyMarc DavisWard KimballEric LarsonWolfgang Reitherman

Animators: Bill TytlaArt BabbittLee BlairPreston BlairFred MooreShamus CulhaneCy YoungDon LuskNorman FergusonHal KingJack HannahDick KinneyHal AmbroKen O'BrienJudge WhitakerBill JusticeDon BluthGary GoldmanCharles A. NicholsBlaine GibsonJohn EwingWalt StanchfieldRolly CrumpFred HellmichAmby PaliwodaWilfred JacksonXavier AtencioBen SharpsteenEarl HurdDale OliverEric CleworthDavid HandFred SpencerJulius SvendsenJack BradburyKenneth MuseRudolf IsingHugh HarmanFriz FrelengWalt KellyLeo SalkinJohn DehnerRetta ScottDavid SwiftMel ShawJack CuttingGrant SimmonsArt StevensFrank TashlinWathel RogersTyrus WongJohnny CannonBernard WolfJohn W. DunnHenry SelickTony StroblChuck WilliamsBurny MattinsonDave SudingAndy Gaskill
Visual Development, Layout, Background Artists and Character Designers: Gustaf TenggrenMary BlairMarjorie RalstonLillian BoundsEdna FrancisVirginia DavisJoe GrantMel ShawClaude CoatsDon DaGradiJohn HenchEyvind EarleKen O'ConnorThor PutnamAlbert HurterJohn HubleyHerbert RymanDon GriffithBasil DavidovichJack BoydPeter EllenshawRuthie TompsonEarl DuvallRetta DavidsonUb IwerksVance GerryHazel SewellJames BodreroLance NolleyGrace BaileyMaurice NobleDale BarnhartAndy EngmanEustace LycettJohn EmersonJoe HaleLeota ToombsFerdinand HorvathJerry ReesDan HansenJim ColemanDorse Lanpher
Storyboard Artists and Writers: Bill PeetRalph WrightDick HuemerFloyd NormanYale GraceyTed SearsErdman PennerJoe RinaldiWinston HiblerOtto EnglanderWilliam CottrellBill BergAl BertinoT. HeeHomer BrightmanTed OsbourneLarry ClemmonsHarry ReevesJesse MarshChuck CouchWebb SmithDick SebastPeter Young
Directors: Clyde GeronimiHamilton LuskeJack KinneyTed BermanRichard RichGeorge ScribnerRiley ThomsonDick LundyJack KingBurt GillettJames AlgarBill RobertsLarry LansburghRichard Irvine
Producers: Walt DisneyRon MillerKen AndersonDon DuckwallPerce PearceMargaret J. Winkler

1980s—present
Renaissance Directors: Rob MinkoffRoger AllersGary TrousdaleKirk WiseChris SandersMark DindalJohn MuskerMike Gabriel

Story Trust Directors: Ron ClementsChris BuckByron HowardDon HallChris WilliamsRich MooreStephen J. AndersonNathan GrenoFawn Veerasunthorn
Producers: Peter Del VechoClark SpencerRoy ConliDorothy McKimDon HahnShane MorrisPeter Schneider
Chief Creative Officer: Jennifer Lee
Associated Figures: Bob IgerRoy Edward DisneyMichael EisnerJohn LasseterEd CatmullJeffrey KatzenbergBob Chapek
Signature Voice Actors: Jim CummingsAlan TudykKatie LowesJohn DiMaggioMaurice LaMarcheJodi BensonDavid Ogden StiersJesse CortiPaul BriggsRaymond S. PersiPhil JohnstonFrank WelkerBill FarmerBrian Cummings
Signature Musicians: Robert B. Sherman Richard M. Sherman Alan Menken Kristen Anderson-Lopez Robert LopezLin-Manuel MirandaHoward AshmanTim RicePhil CollinsStephen SchwartzMarc ShaimanDanny Troob
Supervising Animators: Glen KeaneAndreas DejaEric GoldbergMark HennJohn PomeroyRandy HaycockDale BaerTony BancroftTom BancroftTony FucileAnthony DeRosaRuss EdmondsBruce W. SmithMichael SurreyDuncan MarjoribanksRuben AquinoNik RanieriRon HusbandRick FarmiloeTom SitoTony AnselmoWill FinnKathy ZielinskiHendel ButoyEllen WoodburyMatthew O'CallaghanDavid PruiksmaBob WalkerAaron BlaiseJay JacksonNancy KniepJames BaxterTony FucileSergio Pablos
Visual Development & Storyboard Artists: Dean DeBloisClaire KeaneBrittney LeeJin KimShiyoon KimRyan GreenSue C. NicholsMichael Peraza, Jr.Kevin LimaKelly AsburyKelvin YasudaToby SheltonBarry CookSteve StarrJohn TuckerPeter GullerudMark KennedyMabel L. GesnerCarole HollidayJorgen KlubienDon PaulVan ShirvanianBrian PimentalDonovan CookDavid PimentelJoseph Christopher PepeAlex MannGeoffrey C. EvertsRob GibbsGraham WoodsRay Hofstedt
Other Animators: Kaaren LundeenTimothy O'DonnellMichael HumphriesTim BurtonBrenda ChapmanDavid CutlerSandro CleuzoJane BaerEd GombertBarry TempleGary M. EgglestonBrian CliftBrad BirdDavid StephanRay HarrisLureline WeatherlyMark KalesnikoJoe LanziseroRuben ProcopioPhilip PhillipsonRaul Aguirre Jr.Barry AtkinsonThomas BakerChris BaileyGeefwee BoedoeJane MisekRob CorleyDaan JippesEric PigorsDorothea Baker PaulTrey FinneyPres RomanillosMartin SchwartzMichael ShowKevin M. SmithEdward R. GutierrezJuliet StroudBill ThinnesAsh BrannonGilda PalinginisDonald ParmeleDana ReemesTheresa WisemanMarianne TuckerLillian A. ChapmanClaudia V. KeeneLorna CookChristine Lawrence FinneyLaurey FoulkesMarsha ParkMike CosaJody KooistraAndrew RamosMary-Jean RepchukEric WallsElizabeth S. WatasinJames Young JacksonJymn MagonButch HartmanBill WaldmanChris SonnenburgMarc TosoliniGontran HoarauLieve MiessenFlorence MontceauMarco AllardBert KleinJim SniderJames LopezMarc SmithMark KoetsierBradley RaymondCathie Karas WilkeClay KaytisMichael LesterMichael BenetBilly GeorgeBrooks CampbellJohn PuglisiDoug PostAnthony Wayne Michaels


External links[]

Advertisement