Richard M. Sherman

The Shermans remained at Disney for the remainder of the decade, contributing songs to "That Darn Cat!" (1965), "The Jungle Book" (1967) and "The Aristocats" (1970). A rare non-Disney song, the title tune for United Artists' "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968) earned them an Academy Award nomination. By the time, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971) was released, the siblings had severed their ties to Disney, though the film did earn them Oscar nominations for Best Song Score and Best Song ("The Age of Not Believing"). They renewed their affiliation with United Artists, scripting and scoring adaptations of "Tom Sawyer" (1973) and "Huckleberry Finn" (1974). Also in 1974, the Sherman brothers debuted as Broadway composers with an Andrews Sisters musical called "Over Here!" They were again nominated for Academy Awards for the lilting score and the title song from "The Slipper and the Rose" (1976). Two years later, Sherman and his brother were again among the nominees for "When You're Loved" from "The Magic of Lassie" (1978). In the years that followed, Sherman and his sibling also collaborated on songs for such animated projects as "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" (1990) and "The Tigger Movie" (2000). Even after the older Sherman moved to the U.K. in 2002, the irrepressible brothers continued to collaborate. When "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" became a musical on Broadway in 2005, Richard and Robert contributed a handful of new songs. In 2008, the Sherman brothers were awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush. The following year, they were the subject of the documentary "The Boys: The Sherman Brothers Story" (2009), a fond remembrance of their remarkable careers. It was a partnership that would endure right up until the passing of older brother Robert in March 2012. Richard M. Sherman died on May 25, 2024 in Beverly Hills, CA at the age of 95.