Richard M. Sherman, ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘It’s a Small World’ Songwriter, Dies at 95
variety.comTim Gray Senior Vice PresidentRichard M. Sherman, two-time Oscar winner who collaborated with brother Robert B. Sherman on the songs for “Mary Poppins,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and the enduring Disneyland tune “It’s a Small World (After All),” died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills due to age-related illness.
He was 95. The Sherman brothers worked in a job that no longer exists: inhouse songwriters for a studio. In their case, the studio was Disney, and the brothers were hired for that steady gig after their 1958 song “Tall Paul” was a hit for Mouseketeer Annette Funicello.In the early 1960s, they penned tunes for Hayley Mills in Disney films “The Parent Trap,” “In Search of the Castaways” and “Summer Magic,” as well as songs for “The Absent-Minded Professor” and “Moon Pilot”; Walt Disney, always aware of synergy, made sure his family comedies had a tune with radio-play potential.
The Shermans wrote for the animated “Sword in the Stone” (1963), which was a big hit, but their career really skyrocketed the following year.
Their “Small World” song debuted at the New York World’s Fair, in a boat ride past audio-animatronic puppet-children singing and spinning to the song continuously.
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