Preferred Citation:	Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin. Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman Mary Poppins Collection, 1960-1965 (Film Collection FI-00037).
	Acquisition:	Purchase, 1967, 1969
	Processed by:	Ada McClure, 2025

Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

	Lyricist, composer, and screenwriting brothers Robert ("Bob") Bernard Sherman (b. December 19, 1925) and Richard ("Dick") Morton Sherman (b. June 12, 1928) were born in New York, NY to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Rosa (Dancis) and Al Sherman. Their father, Al Sherman, was a songwriter and composer in the American Tin Pan Alley era. The brothers were raised primarily in Beverly Hills, CA where both studied piano and other various instruments.
	Robert enlisted in the U.S. Army (1943-1945) and earned a Purple Heart as well as aiding in the Dachau camp liberation. Richard was drafted and assigned to the Army band (1953-1955). After returning in 1945, Robert attended Bard College, majoring in English Literature and Painting, and his brother Richard followed in his footsteps, also attending Bard but majoring in music.
	The pair began their songwriting partnership after their father dared them that they couldn’t write a successful song, resulting in the 1958 top 10 hit, "Tall Paul", sung by Disney Mouseketeer Annette Funicello. That same year, Robert founded the Music World Corporation, later affiliating with Disney’s branch of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.), Wonderland Music Company. The attention from " Tall Paul" got the brothers hired by Walt Disney as staff songwriters.
	Over the course of their time with Disney, the brothers wrote hits such as "It’s a Small World" (1964) and worked on countless films including but not limited to The Parent Trap (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), The Lion King (1994), and the subject of this collection, Mary Poppins (1964). The brothers won two Academy Awards and two Grammys for the score of Mary Poppins, as well as numerous other awards and nominations throughout their careers.
	In their late careers, Robert and Richard continued to write and produce with many of their films being adapted into stage shows and musicals. In 2008, they were awarded the National Medal for the Arts by George W. Bush. The brothers continued writing music and plays until Robert’s death in London on March 6, 2012. Richard later passed in Los Angeles, on May 25, 2024.

	Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman Mary Poppins Collection consists of documents and published materials relating to the musical score of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, with materials spanning from July 7, 1960 through 1965. The collection contains film treatments, early script drafts, song and sheet music drafts, a letter from author P. L. Travers, publicity materials, lobby cards, and published song books and sheet music. This collection is arranged in two series: I. Mary Poppins Music, 1960-1963, and II. Mary Poppins Printed Material, 1963-1965.
	The physical arrangement of this collection is chronological and thematic, with Series I: Mary Poppins Music containing materials created before the film’s release and Series II: Mary Poppins Printed Material containing primarily published materials. Many of the items in this collection are signed by either Robert or Richard Sherman, often both. Much of Series I consists of printed or carbon copy script and song manuscripts with handwritten notes by Robert or Richard Sherman. The printed materials in Series II include French and German song translations, marching band and choral sheet music books, lobby cards, and publicity material with editors’ drafts and final proofs for the Sherman Brothers.
	The letter from P. L. Travers to Walt Disney consists of discussion of casting, songwriter options, and creative suggestions such as a request for the songs to reflect Edwardian music hall style. This collection also contains the original sheet music and lyric manuscripts for the entire final soundtrack, as well as original lyric drafts and notes for songs that were cut from the final soundtrack.
	During processing, some materials were un-bound, as some of the paper in the collection is very brittle and fragile.

The Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman papers at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming has a similar Sherman Brothers collection.

	People
		Sherman, Richard M., 1928-2024
		Sherman, Robert B.
		Travers, Pamela Lyndon, 1899-1996
	Organizations
		Walt Disney Productions
	Subjects
		Mary Poppins (Motion picture: 1964)
		Motion picture music -- Scores
	Document Types
		Film Treatments
		Lobby Cards
		Reviews
		Scores
		Scripts
		Sheet Music
		Song books