Richard Sherman, who wrote a number of songs for Disney, including the classics “Mary Poppins” and “The Jungle Book,” died Saturday at the age of 95.
The Disney group said Sherman died in Beverly Hills of an age-related illness.
Sherman and his brother Robert, who died in 2012, worked as composers for Disney from 1960 to 1973. During those years, they wrote more than 200 songs for 27 films and nearly the same number of television productions.
Among the awards list was the 1964 film “Chim Chim Cher-ee” directed by Mary Poppins, for which they received an Oscar. They also wrote hit songs like “It's a Small World” and “I Wanna Be Like You” from “The Jungle Book” in 1967. Outside of Disney, they also wrote the music for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” from 1968.
Industry website diverse He says the brothers' work belongs to a different era in Hollywood and that they filled a role that “no longer exists, which is in-house songwriters at the movie studio.”
Even when they weren't working at Disney, their music had many of the same characteristics: upbeat, positive music, devoid of the cynicism that was so prominent in creative works (including music) in the late 1960s and 1970s, according to the magazine. Variety. .
The Disney Group describes Richard Sherman as an important member of the “inner circle of creative talent” surrounding company founder Walt Disney.
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