Mary Poppins song writer, Richard Sherman, dies at age 95

By Rich McKay

(Reuters) - Richard Sherman, 95, a man behind famed Disney songs that delighted generations, such as "It's a Small World (After all)" and Mary Poppins' songs "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "Spoon full of Sugar" died on Saturday, the Walt Disney Co announced on its website.

He passed at a Beverly Hills California, hospital. The cause was only listed as an "age-related illness," a Disney obituary said.

Sherman was one half of the famed song writing team "the Sherman Brothers" along with his late brother Robert Sherman, and he was regarded as part of Walt Disney's inner creative circle.

The brothers were lauded as among the most prolific composer-lyricists of the era. They wrote more than 200 songs and garnered nine Academy Award nominations, won two Oscars and three Grammy Awards, and also earned 24 gold and platinum albums over a decades-long career.

“Richard Sherman was the embodiment of what it means to be a Disney Legend, creating along with his brother Robert the beloved classics that have become a cherished part of the soundtrack of our lives,” Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.

Before his career in song writing, he majored in music at Bard College and served a stint in the US Army, where he was a conductor for an Army band and glee club in the early 1950s.

In 2005, the brothers were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Three years later, they were awarded the National Medal of the Arts, presented at the White House.

He was preceded in death by Robert Sherman in 2012.

Sherman is survived by his wife of 66 years, Elizabeth, his son Gregory and numerous other relatives. Plans for a public service were not announced.

(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by David Gregorio)