A Major Partnership — in Minor Key

05.18.09 - Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman have been making the music that makes families happy for more than 50 years. Their collaboration is one of the most prolific and honored musical partnerships in history, encompassing 50 motion pictures and resulting in a catalog of more than a thousand songs for television, records, theme parks and stage.

Outside the public eye, "the boys" — Walt's nickname for Richard and Robert Sherman — endured a personal relationship with each other that was less than harmonious. Only now — with the release of the boys — are most fans of this dynamic songwriting team learning of their fractured relationship.

As the only songwriters ever to be put under contract by Walt Disney Studios, the Sherman Brothers created a unique sound that became synonymous with the Disney musical. Just some of their numerous film credits include Mary Poppins, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Parent Trap, as well as such non-Disney titles as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Charlotte's Web. They also wrote the hit song "You're Sixteen," which twice hit Billboard's Top 10; first in 1960 with Johnny Burnette, then in 1974 with Ringo Starr, when it went all the way to No. 1. Their song "It's a Small World (After All)" debuted at the 1964 World's Fair and is the most translated song on earth.

Among their many honors are two Academy Awards (plus seven additional Oscar® nominations), the BMI Lifetime Achievement Award, a Grammy® and five Golden Globe® nominations. They are members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008, the Sherman Brothers were awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor the United States government bestows on artists. In fact, it's hard to think of another songwriting team that can match the quintessential way Bob Sherman and Dick Sherman celebrated family values and happy endings for generations of moviegoers. However, outside the public eye, "the boys" — Walt's nickname for them — endured a personal relationship with each other that was less than harmonious. Only now — with the release of this film — are fans of this dynamic songwriting team learning of their fractured relationship.

Fathers and Sons
Born and raised at the epicenter of the entertainment business, Gregg Sherman and Jeff Sherman, the producers and directors of the boys: the sherman brothers' story, grew up within blocks of each other in Beverly Hills. Even though their fathers are brothers and partners in a legendary musical collaboration, their offspring never knew each other.

"There was a 'keep out' sign posted over that part of our lives," Gregg, the son of Richard M. Sherman, says. "My family would see his family at a Sherman Brothers event, but we would never be seated at the same table or near them in the theater. We would acknowledge that they existed, but we had no relationship with them."

"It's uncomfortable to go to a premiere and smile for the camera, and then walk to separate sides of the theater," says Jeff, the son of Robert Sherman. "I got dribs and drabs of the story as time went on, but we were all told 'they have their life, we have our life and they shouldn't cross.' As adults, Gregg and I decided to break that tradition."

The two finally connected in 2002 at the London premiere of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the stage adaptation of one of their fathers' most successful films. "It was the first time we ever really spoke," Jeff says. "We talked for hours at the after-party. As we caught up with each other, we realized that most of what we had been told about our family was very different. It was like we were looking through two separate halves of a pair of binoculars focused on the same thing."

For both Jeff and Gregg, the first priority was to create a film that would connect their fathers to their vast body of work in the eyes of the public. "A lot of people outside the film industry don't know who the Sherman Brothers are," Gregg says. "They were never self-promoters; always behind-the-scenes guys. They never worked to connect their names to the music because they didn't care about being famous."

The film's producers and directors, Gregg (left) and Jeff Sherman, shown with Gregg's father, Richard Sherman, who along with his brother, Robert, composed some of the greatest songs in the Disney musical canon.

The cousins knew they would need to approach the personal side of the story with caution. "We were aware there were some skeletons," Gregg admits. "But everybody in the Dick Sherman family was optimistic that this would be a lovely tribute film. They understood that Jeff and I wanted to connect the incredible body of music to the work they put into it."

All in the Family
the boys: the sherman brothers' story uses original interviews, archival footage and personal photographs to create an unusually full portrait of the songwriters' lives. "There have been a lot of documentaries about creative people," Gregg says. "In this case, we get to peek into the creative process. We have footage of them working together."

To talk to key people in their fathers' network of friends and associates, the cousins logged thousands of miles traveling to London and New York for interviews. "Everybody wanted to speak," Jeff says. "It was an amazing outpouring. One of the things we learned in talking to the many composers we interviewed is that it seems to be part of the job description that successful songwriting partners create friction."

In addition to bringing to light the Sherman Brothers' extraordinary musical legacy, Gregg admits the cousins had a second, more poignant reason for making the film. "My father and my uncle live 10,000 miles apart and we wanted to try and bring them closer together," he says. "We were one for two."

Still, he feels that the boys: the sherman brothers' story has a message that many people will relate to. "There's a certain level of dysfunction in most families," he says. "Seeing the film has made people want to reconnect with estranged family members. If people can become more generous towards their family, that would be the true icing on the cake. We weren't able to get my dad and uncle any closer together, but if others could reconnect with their family members, that would be very satisfying.

Brothers in Arms
Gregg and Jeff came to the project with decades worth of knowledge of their family story, told from opposing viewpoints. "To make this film, we had to try and reconcile two very different points of view," Gregg says. "It was not an easy process. Jeff and I ended up having bitter arguments over things that happened 40 years ago and which we were not involved in, but we had locked in on our dads' points of view."

"There were a lot of mysteries about their relationship," Jeff concurs. "Not surprisingly, our biggest disagreements were about whose version of the story is correct. But we made an agreement at the beginning that there isn't a bad guy in this story. They're just different men. They're our heroes and they always have been and they always will be."

Gregg and Jeff say they set out to create a sincere and truthful tribute to the men they both call their heroes. "As we see in the film, my father saw the darkest things imaginable during World War II," Jeff observes. "And yet, he came back and devoted his skills to making the world a better place. I'd just like people to know who he is.

"I hope audiences will be able to identify with them both as two very sensitive people who saw things in the world that needed to be addressed and made them better in their own way, which was communicating through songs," he continues. "They share this inspiration that brings happiness and understanding to people. Their songs are about charity, loyalty, friendship and world harmony. They changed the world around them even though they couldn't change their own world."



the boys: the sherman brothers' story opens May 22 in Los Angeles at the Landmark's Regent Theatre (and also for a limited evening run at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood from May 22 through May 26, for 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. shows only), in New York at the Landmark Sunshine Cinemas, in Palm Desert, California at the Cinemas Palme D'Or and in San Francisco at the AMC Metreon.