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Richard M Sherman, half of the prolific songwriting Sherman Brothers who wrote songs for Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has died aged 95. Along with his late brother Robert , Sherman won two Academy Awards for Best Song and Best Score, for their work on Walt Disney’s box-office 1964 hit Mary Poppins. The Walt Disney Co.

announced that Sherman died on Saturday 25 May due to age-related illness. “Generations of moviegoers and theme park guests have been introduced to the world of Disney through the Sherman brothers’ magnificent and timeless songs,” the company’s statement said. “Even today, the duo’s work remains the quintessential lyrical voice of Walt Disney,” the company said in a remembrance posted on its website.



Sherman’s brother Robert died aged 86 in London, in 2012. Born in New York City on 12 June 1928 to Russian Jewish immigrants Al and Rosa Sherman, he and his family eventually settled in Beverley Hills, California, in 1937. He became engrossed by music from a young age, learning to play instruments including the piano, flute and piccolo.

He was classmates with fellow future Academy Award-winner Andre Previn, who would go on to win for his score to My Fair Lady, and performed with him at their high school graduation in 1946. Their joint credits as lyricist and composer span hundreds of songs featured in some of Disney’s most popular ventures, from Winne the Pooh and The Magic of Lassie to the most-played tune on Earth,.

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