Sherman and his brother Robert became Disney Studios' first ever in-house songwriters. They won two Oscars for their songs and score to Mary Poppins and composed the classic 'It's a Small World.'
, has died due to age-related illness at 95. The Sherman brothers wrote the scores for two dozen films, many for Disney — among them,Born in New York on June 12, 1928, he and his family moved to Beverly Hills, Calif., when Sherman was 9. His father, Al, was a popular songwriter and challenged Richard and his older brother to write together, Sherman remembered in 2005."He sensed that Bob and I collaborating and pooling our wits could come up with something.
They had a top 10 hit in 1958,"Tall Paul," with Annette Funicello, which brought them to the attention of Walt Disney., in 1961. They wrote many film scores and even theme park songs for the company, such as"It's a Small World .", starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, that cemented their reputation.
"He'd call, not every Friday, but he'd call up and say 'Come over, we'll talk,'"recalled Sherman."And so, we'd go over and we'd pass the time about what we were doing, because we were always working on something. And then he'd look out the north window of his office and say, 'Play it.' And I'd play and sing 'Feed the Birds, Tuppence a Bag.
Producer Cubby Broccoli, who owned the rights to Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, hired them to adapt the author's children's book,. Sherman said he and his brother had fun writing the title song about the magical flying car."We wanted the song to sound like the way the motor sounded," Sherman explained,"because that's the trick, the whole thing is that it backfires and goes 'bang bang.'"The rhythmic song was nominated for an Oscar.
While they were very much on the same wavelength as songwriters, the brothers had a complicated, sometimes contentious relationship, which was documented in the 2009 film,were adapted for the stage. The Sherman brothers were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1976.Jeff Lunden is a freelance arts reporter and producer whose stories have been heard on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition, as well as on other public radio programs.
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