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Richard Sherman, Oscar-Winning Songwriter on ‘Mary Poppins,’ Dies at 95

Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning songwriter who partnered with his late brother to craft tunes for such Disney classics as 'Mary Poppins,' died.

Sherman, who also co-wrote “It’s a Small World (After All)” — considered the most performed song ever — as well as “You’re Sixteen,” a chart-topper for Ringo Starr, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of age-related illness, Disney announced. In 1961, Richard and Robert separately watched British actress Julie Andrews perform two songs from her Broadway musical Camelot on The Ed Sullivan Show and knew immediately she would be ideal for the lead in Mary Poppins. “You don’t get songs like ‘Spoonful of Sugar’ without a genuine love of life, which Richard passed on to everyone lucky enough to be around him,” director and Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter said in a statement.

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