A DISNEY songwriter who wrote hits for Mary Poppins and It’s a Small World has died.
It has been confirmed that Richard M. Sherman, who was 95 years old, died after getting sick from getting older.
The nine-time Oscar winner passed away at Beverly Hills’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday.
Sherman wrote songs like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and “Feed the Birds,” which were all hits for Mary Poppins. He worked with his brother Robert B. Sherman on those songs.
“It’s a Small World (After All)” and “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were also written by the pair. They are said to be the most played songs in the world.
They won 23 gold and platinum albums, nine Oscars, and two Grammys, showing how talented they were.
As co-lyricists and composers, they have worked on many projects, such as Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte’s Web, and The Magic of Lassie.
President George W. Bush gave them the National Medal of Arts at the White House in 2008.
Disney put out the documentary “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story” in May 2009.
Later that same year, the company put out “The Sherman Brothers Songbook,” which had songs from 42 years of their career.
They worked with Disney for ten years starting in the 1960s. Before that, they had written hit pop songs like “Tall Paul” for former Mouseketeer Annette Funicello and “You’re Sixteen,” which was later recorded by Ringo Starr.
Over 150 songs were written by them at Disney.
On their days off from the piano, they raised their families and did other things they enjoyed. They still lived close to each other in Beverly Hills, though.
William Sherman, Richard Sherman’s wife, and their two children, Gregory and Victoria, will miss him.
He also left behind a daughter named Lynda from a previous marriage.
Disney said that details about a service to honor her life will be released later. A private funeral will take place on Friday.
It was 2012 when Robert Sherman died.
