Robert Jason Sherman (born July 16, 1968), known as Robbie Sherman, is an American songwriter based in London. He was born in Los Angeles to Joyce and

Robert B. Sherman Robert Bernard Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) was an American songwriter, best known for his work in musical films with his brother, Richard M. Sherman. The Sherman brothers produced more motion picture song scores than any oth ...

, the youngest of four siblings. Stemming from a long line of songwriters and composers, spanning more than four generations, at 16 Sherman became one of the youngest songwriters ever invited to join BMI and is an alum of the

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a two-year educational program for people who wish to develop a musical and has been called "the premier incubator for Broadway". At the end of the second year, a small number of selected participants ...

. He is perhaps best known for his work on '' Love Birds: The Musical'', which premiered at the 2015

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

Early life and education

Born and raised in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, Sherman attended Hawthorne Elementary School. In grade six, Sherman wrote the Hawthorne School song. In eighth grade he was voted student body president. At

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (shortly as BHHS or Beverly) is a public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills is Moreno High School, a small alternative school located on Beverly Hills High School's c ...

Sherman joined the Madrigal Singers and the marching band. In his senior year, Sherman became the band's drum major and composed the graduation song "Let Time Stand Still".Alexander, Karen (February 24, 1989) " Local Rock Band Plays for Students" ''Highlights'' (Beverly Hills High School) Vol. 60 No.24 During his high school years Sherman won two "Awards of Distinction" at the Los Angeles Student Film Festival for two of his short film musicals respectively: ''Dog of Darkness'' (1983) and ''The Magic Tuba'' (1984).Wolfson, Lisa (December 19, 1986). "Musical Families Join Forces to Write Kids' Yule Melodrama" ''The Beverly Hills Courier''. He graduated in 1986. Sherman did his undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television with an emphasis in screenwriting. At USC, Sherman was initiated into the Tau Gamma chapter of

Tau Epsilon Phi Tau Epsilon Phi (), commonly known as TEP or T E Phi, is an American collegiate social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded at Columbia University in 1910. Since its establishment, the fraternity has chartered ...

(ΤΕΦ) fraternity. He received a BFA degree in Filmic Writing in 1990. In 2012 Sherman received an MA (with Merit) in Jewish Studies from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

Career

At 18 Sherman co-wrote songs for the musical, '' A Christmas Held Captive'' (

Beverly Hills Playhouse The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in the Los Angeles ...

). Since then Sherman has written songs and/or script for various film, stage and TV productions including '' Amazon Jack'' (

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

), ''

The Magic 7 ''The Magic 7'' is an animated television film written and directed by Roger Holzberg. It was slated to air on Earth Day (April 22) in 1997, but was postponed. After later plans for a 2005 release, the film was again suspended. Plot The film cen ...

'' (Pulse Entertainment) and ''The Penguin Pirate''. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Sherman was lead singer/songwriter and guitarist for two rock bands, ''Numbers'' and ''SHACK''. Current projects include ''Inkas the Ramferinkas'' (an animation musical film) and ''

Bumblescratch ''Bumblescratch'' is an original sung-through musical with book, music and lyrics by Robert J. Sherman. The musical premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 4 September 2016 as a one night, celebrity gala charity event in aid of Variety, ...

'' which was workshopped at The Network Theatre in London in 2013. In 2014 Sherman wrote, narrated and produced ''

A Spoonful of Sherman ''A Spoonful of Sherman'' is a musical revue written and emceed by Robert J. Sherman which premiered on January 6, 2014 at the St. James Theatre in London. The cast consisted of four rising West End theatre stars including Charlotte Wakefield, ...

'', a cabaret celebrating 90 years of Sherman songwriting. The show received four stars from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' (London). The Original London Cast Recording was released in July 2015 by

SimG Records SimG Records is an independent record label dedicated to promoting new musical theatre and new writers to British audiences. Founded by London-based director/producer Simon Greiff in 2009, the label focuses on bringing fresh talent to the forefron ...

. In 2015 Sherman's song, " Disneyana!" was named the "official theme song" of the

Disneyana Fan Club The Disneyana Fan Club or DFC was founded in 1984 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Walt Disney's legacy. Its published aim is to provide Disneyana enthusiasts worldwide with news, information, and ev ...

. It was debuted during 60th Anniversary Celebrations of the

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

theme park during the annual Disneyana Convention held in Anaheim at which time Sherman also received the 2015 Disneyana President's Award for his service to the organization. Sherman's musical, '' Love Birds'' (for which he wrote both

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

and songs) premiered at the

in August 2015 and was widely praised by the press, receiving numerous five star and four star reviews. The Original Edinburgh Cast Recording of ''Love Birds'' was produced by Sherman and released in August 2015 by

and was also widely praised. In 2016 Sherman contributed material to ''Ms: A Song Cycle'' which was subtitled as having been "inspired by women living with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

". The project was conceived by lyricist Rory Sherman (unrelated). The song they collaborated on, entitled: "Mondays", became the final piece on the album and was performed by

Rosemary Ashe Rosemary Elizabeth Ashe (born 28 March 1953) is an English stage actress and singer. Early life and training She was born to Philip Stephen Ashe and Dorothy May (née Watts). She attended Lowestoft Grammar School before studying at the Royal A ...

. A one night, gala charity concert of ''

'' commemorating the 350th anniversary of the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

premiered at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in London on September 4, 2016. At the conclusion of the performance, Sherman was named a Variety Club Celebrity Ambassador alongside director/choreographer

Stewart Nicholls Stewart Nicholls (born 20th century) is a British stage director and choreographer. Career His credits include productions of: ''A Spoonful of Sherman'' ( 2018 UK/Ireland tour, St James' Theatre and Live at Zédel), ''Bumblescratch'' (Adelphi Th ...

and ''Bumblescratch'' stars:

Darren Day Darren Day (born 17 July 1968) is an English actor, singer and television presenter, known for his West End theatre starring roles. Early life Day undertook drama classes at evenings and weekends until he was 13, when he turned his attention t ...

Jessica Martin Jessica Cecelia Anna Maria Martin (born 25 August 1962) is an English actress, singer, and illustrator. Specializing as an impressionist, her television roles have included ''Spitting Image'', '' Copy Cats'' and two series with Bobby Davro. Sh ...

and

Michael Xavier Michael D. Xavier (born Michael David Smith; 27 November 1977) is an English actor and singer. He is a two-time Laurence Olivier Award nominee and has performed on Broadway and in the West End. Early life Michael David Smith (later known as M ...

. SimG Records released a CD of musical highlights from the London concert in December 2016. The CD was widely praised. ''

'' returned to London for two weeks in August 2017 with Sherman narrating once again. The show featured West End stars,

Helena Blackman Helena Blackman (born 10 December 1982 in Southampton) is a British musical theatre actress, best known for being the runner-up in the hit BBC1 Reality TV programme '' How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?''. She trained at the Guildford Sch ...

and

Daniel Boys Daniel Boys (born 26 March 1979) is an English actor. He starred in the West End productions of the musicals ''Rent'' and ''Grease'' before being a 2007 contestant on the BBC talent series '' Any Dream Will Do''. Boys went on to star in many ...

. On December 20, 2017, the launch of the ''A Spoonful of Sherman'' UK/Ireland tour was announced with previews beginning on February 14, 2018, at the EM Forester Theatre in

Tonbridge, Kent Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

. Cast members for the tour included

Sophie-Louise Dann Sophie-Louise Dann (born 1969) is a British actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Career Dann trained at Arts Educational Schools, London. She appeared in minor roles in the films '' My Summer with Des'' (1998) and ''The Phantom ...

, Mark Read, Glen Facey, Jenna Innes and Ben Stock. The tour went to over 25 cities and towns across the UK and Ireland and the reviews were very favorable. In 2019, ''A Spoonful of Sherman'' was licensed for productions in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. In January 2022 ''The Robbie Sherman Songbook'' was published by

Hal Leonard Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...

music publishers. The Songbook included 16 of Sherman's songs from five musicals. In March 2022 a "Backing Tracks and Vocal Guides" audio album was also released to accompany the first album.

About being a songwriter

In an interview Sherman said, "My earliest memory is that I wanted to be a songwriter. It's a strange thing to call an 'earliest memory', I suppose. But there it is. I was, perhaps two or three years old. From where I stood,

my father ''My Father'' () is a 2007 South Korean film. The film, which is based on a true story, is about an adopted son who is searching for his biological parents in South Korea. During his search he meets his real father, a condemned murderer on death r ...

and

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...

wrote the type of music that children loved. So that's what I wanted to do too."

Sherman Theatrical Entertainment

In 2021, alongside finance professionals Bret Goldin and Andrew Kaplan, Sherman created Sherman Theatrical Entertainment, Ltd. The new company was created to bring theatrical productions of Sherman's and the Sherman Family's to stage, screen, and streaming. The company is also focused on music publishing and licensing of select songs and projects from his own and his family's library. On May 4, 2023 it was announced that company was in a feature film development deal on the Sherman Brothers' animation musical, ''Inkas the Ramferinkas''.

Literary work

In 2013 Sherman oversaw and completed the publication of

's '' Moose: Chapters From My Life'', serving as the book's editor. In 2010, with his father's permission, Sherman provided an advance copy of the book to the production team of the Walt Disney motion picture ''

Saving Mr. Banks ''Saving Mr. Banks'' is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Centered on the development of the 1964 film ''Mary Poppins'', the film stars Emma Thompson as book author P. L. Tr ...

'' starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

and

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

. The book became a primary piece of source material for the screenwriters' script. In the summer of 2012, now serving as the Trustee of the Robert B. Sherman Estate, Sherman consulted directly with the producer, director and one of the writers concerning the film. The first edition of ''

Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

'' was released in 2013, a year following the author's death, and timed to coincide with the release of ''

''. The book was published by

AuthorHouse AuthorHouse, formerly known as 1stBooks, is a self-publishing company based in the United States. AuthorHouse uses print-on-demand business model and technology. History Originally called 1stBooks, the company was founded in Bloomington, In ...

, an affiliate of

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

. In 2016 Sherman provided the narration for the unabridged audible

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

version. The audiobook was published by Orchard Hill Press.

Publishing, archives and family legacy

Sherman became the vice president of

Music World Corporation Music World Corporation is an American music production and Music publisher (popular music), music publishing company, representing hundreds of song and music cue titles for a small clientele of composers and lyricists including the company foun ...

in 1993. Upon the death of his father in 2012, Sherman became the CEO/president of Music World. In 2013 Sherman founded its affiliate Music World LLC in the United States and MusicWorld UK, Ltd. specifically for his own work. Sherman is a trustee of the Robert B. Sherman Family Estate and Archives, which includes one-half of the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of brothers Robert Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard Sherman (June 12, 1928 – May 25, 2024). Together they received ...

and

Al Sherman Avrum Sherman (September 7, 1897 – September 16, 1973), pen name Al Sherman, was an American songwriter and composer active during the Tin Pan Alley era in American music history. Some of his most recognizable song titles include " You Gotta B ...

estates. Sherman is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of song and story writing. Since 2014 Sherman has led an annual ''Walking With Giants'' trolley and walking tour through

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, where the Sherman family has lived (in whole or in part) since 1938. The tour highlights significant places and moments in the lives of the Sherman Brothers and their father, songwriter Al Sherman. Sherman resides in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

External links

Robert J. Sherman Official Website
*

"It's Your Birthday"
(''Love Birds'' promotional cartoon animated by

Will Finn Will Finn is an American animator, voice actor, storyboard artist, and director. Career His work in animation includes characters from Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Don Bluth films such as ''The Secret of NIMH'', '' Oliver & Company'', ...

)
''A Spoonful Of Sherman'' (Official Website)

''A Spoonful Of Sherman'' UK/Ireland Tour (2018 Promotional Video)

''A Spoonful Of Sherman'' Zedel Cabaret (2017 Promotional Video)

''Bumblescratch:'' West End Live 2016

''Bumblescratch: The Musical'' (Official Website)

"Disneyana!" (The Official Theme Song of the Disneyana Fan Club) Video

''Inkas the Ramferinkas''
*
discogs.com profile: Robert J. Sherman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherman, Robert J. 1968 births 21st-century American writers Alumni of King's College London American dramatists and playwrights American expatriates in the United Kingdom American literary editors American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American male singer-songwriters American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers American musical theatre lyricists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American rock songwriters Beverly Hills High School alumni Broadway composers and lyricists California Democrats Jewish American songwriters Living people Screenwriters from California Robert J. Singer-songwriters from California Tau Epsilon Phi USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni 21st-century American tubists