Disney fans memorialize composer Richard Sherman
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Many Disney fans are still in mourning for composer Richard M. Sherman, who died May 25 at age 95. He and his brother Robert created dozens of classic movie songs, including the Oscar-winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from “Mary Poppins.”
Central Florida theme park visitors can get a taste of the Sherman Brothers’ work at a trio of Magic Kingdom attractions: Carousel of Progress (“There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”), Enchanted Tiki Room and “it’s a small world,” which is home to what Time magazine said is “very likely” the most played song in music history. The Shermans’ “One Little Spark” plays at Epcot’s Journey into Imagination.
“The music of the Sherman Brothers has captured the hearts of generations of audiences,” Walt Disney Co. CEO Robert Iger said when the company confirmed Richard Sherman’s death. “We are forever grateful for the mark Richard left on the world.”
The Shermans worked on projects with filmmaker Walt Disney. Robert Sherman died in 2012.
Social media posts have typically used the words “legend” and “soundtrack of our childhood” in regard to the brothers. Among the reactions:
• “One of the great privileges of my life was getting to know the legendary Richard Sherman, the man responsible for so many of the songs that defined my childhood from the scores of Mary Poppins to Jungle Book to legendary rides like It’s a Small World, the Tiki Room and so many others. What a giant and what a beautiful soul.” – Actor Josh Gad
• “The world is a more positive place with a multitude of ‘great big beautiful tomorrows’ for having him and his brother in it. One could only hope to have 1/4 of the impact they’ve had on people, families, music, and culture.” – Singer-songwriter Scott Silson
• “Richard Sherman. A composer who shaped my childhood. Mary Poppins, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, Aristocats, Jungle Book and so, so many more. I sang at an event where he was honored, and he was generous to stop and talk with me for a while. We need more minds and hearts like his in this world. #richardsherman was pure genius and inspired me in more ways than I knew.” – Actress Bethany Joy Lenz
• “Too easily we throw around the term “Greatest of all Time” but who can question Richard Sherman being worthy of it? The world is incalculably better for his having been part of it.” – Composer Austin Wintory
• “Richard Sherman was such a class act, a sweet man and a beautiful songwriter. We were all so blessed to have had him in our lives.” – Composer Alan Menken (“The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and others)
• “You don’t get songs like ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ without a genuine love of life, which Richard passed on to everyone lucky enough to be around him.” Pete Docter, chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios
• “Much like the lyrics to his many iconic songs, Richard Sherman’s legacy will never be forgotten.” Walt Disney Family Museum post on X
• “As I was playing the last set, I decided to perform mostly Sherman brother compositions. I was playing a Mary Poppins medley… and as I started to play ‘Feed The Birds’ … just at that precise moment as the sun was about to set… this gorgeous golden ray of a sunbeam came thru the windows at the Grand Floridian and stayed on the piano the entire time I was playing the song. It brought tears to my eyes. It was so emotional.” – Longtime Disney World pianist Carol Stein
