Richard M. Sherman – born June 12, 1928, in New York City, New York – was a songwriter best known as one-half of iconic songwriting team The Sherman Brothers alongside his elder sibling Robert B. Sherman. The duo composed more songs and scores for motion pictures than any other songwriting team. Their work can be heard in classic films such as Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1965), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Snoopy Come Home (1972), Charlotte’s Web (1973), and Iron Man 2 (2010). Closely associated with Disney, Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman also wrote the music for several Disneyland attractions including “The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” (for Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room), and “It’s a Small World (After All),” which was originally written for the 1964 New York World’s Fair attraction but became the soundtrack to the attraction of the same name. The music they wrote for various films and attractions have been covered by hundreds of artists over the years and “It’s a Small World (After All)” is said to be the most publicly performed song in history. As a challenge from his songwriting father, Richard M. Sherman began writing songs with his brother two years after graduating college. After setting up a publishing company, they scored their first hit in 1958 with Annette Funicello’s “Tall Paul.” Their career took off from there as they composed for many Disney films. Some of their best known songs include “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from Mary Poppins, a soundtrack that earned them two Oscars and two Grammy Awards. The Sherman Brothers worked directly with Walt Disney until his death in 1966. The duo then worked on several non-Disney projects including 1968’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and 1972’s Snoopy Come Home. Some of their songs and scores for films were translated into stage musicals including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2002), Mary Poppins (2002), A Spoonful of Sherman (2014), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (2021). Although they remained an in-demand songwriting duo, Richard M. Sherman and his brother often had long and deep feuds that ensured that they lived separate private lives and seldom spent significant time together outside of their work. In 2002, Robert B. Sherman relocated to London, England and the duo continued to collaborate using whatever technology was available at the time (fax, phone, texts, and e-mail). The brothers were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. Robert B. Sherman died at the age of 86 on March 6, 2012. Richard M. Sherman continued writing, offering three songs to the 2018 motion picture Christopher Robin. Richard M. Sherman died on May 25, 2024, at the age of 95.
