Robert Bernard Sherman was born on December 19, 1925, in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrants Rosa (Dancis) andAl Sherman.[citation needed] Al Sherman, a songwriter, paid for his son's hospital delivery costs with a royalty check that arrived that day for the song "Save Your Sorrow". His brother and songwriting partner, Richard, was born in 1928. Sherman's father was a well-knownTin Pan Alley songwriter.[4]
In his youth, Sherman excelled in violin, piano, painting and poetry. Following seven years of cross-country moves, the Shermans settled down inBeverly Hills, California. Some of the primary schools Sherman attended in Manhattan included PS 241 and theEthical Culture Fieldston School, and in California, theEl Rodeo School.[5]AtBeverly Hills High School, Sherman wrote and produced radio and stage programs for which he won much acclaim. At age 16, Sherman wroteArmistice and Dedication Day, astage play showing how American life was changed following the December 7, 1941attack on Pearl Harbor. The play yielded thousands of dollars forwar bonds and earned a special citation from theWar Department.[6][7]
Upon his return to theUnited States, Sherman attendedBard College in upstateNew York where he majored in English literature and painting. Sherman served aseditor-in-chief ofBard College's campus newspaper,The Bardian. At Bard, Sherman completed his first two novels,The Best Estate andMusic, Candy and Painted Eggs. He graduated in 1949.[14]
On May 12, 1990, Sherman received an honorary doctorate fromLincoln College.[15]
In 1965, the Sherman brothers won twoAcademy Awards forMary Poppins, Best Original Score and Best Original Song, "Chim Chim Cher-ee".[citation needed] SinceMary Poppins' premiere, Sherman earned nine Academy Award nominations, twoGrammy Awards, four Grammy Award nominations and 23 gold and platinum albums.[19] Starting with this movie, and continuing through several subsequent Disney movies, the Sherman Brothers collaborated with noted arranger-conductorIrwin Kostal.
Robert and Richard Sherman worked for Walt Disney until Disney's death in 1966. After leaving the company, the brothers worked freelance as songwriters on scores of motion pictures, television shows, theme park exhibits and stage musicals.
Their first non-Disney assignment was in 1968 inAlbert R. Broccoli's motion pictureChitty Chitty Bang Bang, which garnered the brothers their third Academy Award nomination. In 1973, the Sherman brothers made history by becoming the only Americans ever to win first prize at theMoscow Film Festival forTom Sawyer, for which they authored the screenplay.[19]
Original London cast - "Janes and Michaels". Left to right (Front): Poppy Lee Friar, Jack Montgomery,Perry Millward,Harry Stott,Ben Watton, Jake Catterall, Nicola Bowman. Left to right (BACK): Charlotte Spencer, Faye Spittlehouse,Carrie Hope Fletcher,Robert B. Sherman. (Photo: July 19, 2004)
In 2000, the Sherman brothers wrote the score for Disney's blockbuster filmThe Tigger Movie, their first major motion picture for Disney in more than 28 years.
In 2002, the stage musicalChitty Chitty Bang Bang became the most successful stage show produced at theLondon Palladium. In 2005, it premiered on Broadway at theFoxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre). The Sherman brothers wrote an additional six songs for the new stage productions.[23]
In 2002, Sherman moved from Beverly Hills to London, England, where he continued to write and paint. In 2003, four Sherman brothers' musicals ranked in the "Top 10 Favorite Children's Films of All Time" in a British poll reported by the BBC.The Jungle Book (1967) ranked at No. 7,Mary Poppins (1964) ranked at No. 8,The Aristocats (1970) ranked at No. 9 andChitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) ranked at No. 1.[24]
Sherman married Ilse Louise Hayes inElkton, Maryland in 1948; the marriage was annulled in South Norwalk, Connecticut in 1950.
Sherman then married Joyce Ruth Sasner in California in 1953. Their first child, Laurie (b. 1955) was followed by Jeffrey (b. 1957), Andrea (1960-2019) andRobert (b. 1968).[28]
After Sherman's 2002 relocation to London, he and his brother, Richard, continued to collaborate on variousmusical plays, as well as afeature, animated,film musicals which incorporates their original story, song score and screenplay. The brothers traveled between Los Angeles,New York and London to facilitate their work.
Sherman died in London on March 6, 2012. His wife preceded him in death by 11 years. A public memorial service and funeral was held for Sherman on March 9, 2012, at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary in Culver City.[5]
A lesser-known aspect of Sherman's life was his painting, which he had done since 1941 and kept private, except from his family and friends,[29] until 2002. Sherman studied painting while attendingBard College, receiving a double degree in bothPainting andEnglish Literature. Sherman worked in various visual arts media, includingclay and metal sculpture, but his focus was oil painting throughout the 1940s-1960s, when he switched to acrylics.
InApril 2002, an exhibition of Sherman's paintings was held inLondon, England, at Thompsons' Gallery onMarylebone High Street. This marked the first public exhibition of his paintings since he started painting in 1941. Sherman exhibited his paintings in Florida and California. A series ofLimited EditionGiclées of Sherman's art were published on canvas and paper.
Sherman's paintings that have appeared at the various exhibitions includeOn Route 9G (c. 1949),Self Portrait (1970),San Francisco (1970),Moses (1977),Carousel In The Country (1982),From the Dining Room (1982),Sacrifice (1983),Florid Window (1984),Geisha (1986),Fine Four Fendered Friend (2002), andPark Lane (2003).[30] On March 4, 2007, Sherman and his son, Robbie, donated limited edition prints ofMoses andSacrifice to theGiffnock Synagogue inGlasgow, Scotland.[31] Sherman worked in metal sculpture, wrote poetry and short stories from an early age.
In 2000, the Sherman Brothers wrote the award-winning score toThe Tigger Movie which achieved number one status in both theatrical box office and video sales.
The Sherman Brothers' classic motion picture,Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, was adapted into aLondonWest EndMusical in 2002 and premiered at theLondon Palladium on April 16, 2002, featuring many new songs and a reworked score by both Sherman Brothers. It was nominated for a 2003Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Musical.[34] The Sherman Brothers each received the "Musical Theatre Award" from the Variety Club of Great Britain that year as well forChitty.[35]Chitty finished a record-breaking, three-and-a-half-year run at the Palladium, becoming the longest-running show in the theatre's century-long history.[36] 2004 saw the premiere ofMary Poppins on the stage. In 2005,Poppins was nominated for nineOlivier Awards. In 2005Chitty went to Broadway and was nominated for 9Tonys and also began its nationwide (UK) tour.
During aLondon press junket promoting the 40th anniversaryDVD rerelease ofThe Jungle Book, Robert and Richard Sherman were witnessed by press working on a new song forInkas in the sameBrown's Hotel room whereThe Jungle Book was originally penned by the British writer,Rudyard Kipling, over a hundred years earlier.[39]
In May 2009, a documentary calledThe Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story was released. In October 2009, Disney releasedThe Sherman Brothers Songbook, a 59-track, two-CD compendium of their work for the studio spanning 42 years.[42]
On March 11, 2010, the Sherman Brothers were presented with aWindow on MainstreetDisneyland inAnaheim, California in honor of their contribution to Disney theme parks. On May 17, 2010, the "Career Achievement Award" at The Theatre Museum's 2010 Awards Gala.[43]
On May 21, 2011, the Sherman Brothers were each awarded honorary doctorate degrees in Fine Arts from their alma mater,Bard College. This was Robert's second honorary doctorate. His first was granted byLincoln College on May 12, 1990.[44]
On May 4, 2023, a feature film development deal on the Sherman Brothers' animation musical,Inkas the Ramferinkas was announced.[45]
In 2005, Robert Sherman established an annual scholarship award in his name through theBMI Foundation.[46] The awardee is chosen by BMI'sLehman Engel program with some consultation with Sherman. The first awardee was announced in November 2006. Awardees are chosen for their excellence in musical comedy songwriting with an emphasis on lyric writing.[46] Following is a list of the annual winners since the award's inception:
Marking the official UK book launch forMoose, Robert J. Sherman wrote and emceed a two-night cabaret calledA Spoonful of Sherman which premiered at theSt. James Theatre in London, England on January 6, 2014.[50] The show was billed as "A Celebration of the Life, Times and Songs of Robert B. Sherman" and was received extremely well by the crowd and critics alike.[51][52] The show took on a life of its own, subsequently enjoying a "sold out" return engagement later in the year at the same venue. The Original Cast Recording, double CD was produced by Nicholas Lloyd Webber and released bySimG Records in 2015.[53]
"It's a Small World (After All)" for the 1964 New York World's Fair attraction Pepsi Presents WALT DISNEY'S "it's a small world" - a Salute to UNICEF and the World's Children, then adapted to each Disney Park installation of "It's a Small World".
2000NominatedAnnie in the category of "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production" for the song "Round My Family Tree" fromThe Tigger Movie
2003Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement and contribution to animation
^Giesen, Rolf (2020). "Introduction".Hitler's Third Reich of the Movies. BearManor Media.The very first American soldier at the liberation of Dachau...was Robert B. Sherman.
^Sherman, Robert B. (2013). "Dachau".Moose. AuthorHouse. p. 25.
^Cheesman, Neil (December 20, 2017)."First Tour Dates Announced for A Spoonful of Sherman". London Theatre 1. RetrievedDecember 22, 2017.Robert J Sherman, son of Robert B. Sherman and a successful composer in his own right brings the utterly compelling story of one family's century-long, award-winning musical journey to UK audiences in 2018.
^Carter, Roz."REVIEW: A SPOONFUL OF SHERMAN (Greenwich Theatre) ★★★★★". West End Wilma. RetrievedApril 10, 2018.The whole show is filled with whimsy, magic and some of the most memorable songs ever written; it does the Sherman family proud. I can't remember when I spent a more joyful or moving evening at the theatre.
