Book Review
Title: Moose: Chapters From My Life
Author: Robert B. Sherman
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Date: November 27, 2013
Chapters from My Life is a compelling page-turner to say the least. Sherman was born in 1925, a member of the “Greatest Generation.” He grew up during the depression, charging a few pennies for neighborhood kids to watch his and his brother’s performances in their garage. He fought in WWII, saw intense action in Europe. He was among the first of the allied forces to encounter Dachau prison camp in person. He was awarded the Purple Heart and used a cane the rest of his life due to a shrapnel injury to his knee. After the war he went to college, then gradually progressed into his career as a song writer.
The autobiography has the literary merit of a classic, with plenty of adventure. It makes sense that he was one of the best lyrical writers of the twentieth century. It shows in this last work of his life. The structure puts together coherent streams that keep threads of his life intact. For example, introducing a friend he met while young, Sherman traces that friendship throughout life. Then he comes back to the early years to start another thread. These “chapters of his life” work nicely to “package” a part of his life from start to finish, before switching to another part.
Sherman’s father was also a song writer. He had his own hits, and was instrumental in guiding and encouraging Robert Sherman in his profession. An apt historical note: Sherman’s father, alongside George Gershwin, played piano for other vaudeville performers in the 1920s. It is poetic that the two premier song-writing brother-duos of the twentieth century were the Gershwin brothers (George and Ira) and the Sherman brothers (Robert and Richard). They knew each other and occupied successive generations. The book is filled with great stories of those exciting days.
The great stories continue through the 1950s getting a foot in the door of show business. In 1960, Sherman met Walt Disney, who hired them almost immediately after meeting. The Sherman Brothers became a fixture at Disney Studios, writing most of the Disney hits for the next six years, for the theme parks as well as the films. Anyone who has been to Disney World has heard “It’s a Small World After All” and the “Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room.” They also wrote the songs for Mary Poppins, the Jungle Book, Winnie the Pooh, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (though it wasn’t a Disney film); among many others.
Some of the best stories in the book pertain to Sherman’s personal friendship with Walt Disney. Robert and Richard’s contract was not with the Disney Studios corporation. The contract was with Walt Disney himself. They worked for Walt personally, so that no other producers in the studio could use their time without explicit permission from Walt Disney. Disney kept the Sherman brothers to himself because he thought they were the best of the best, and wanted them dedicated to his most important projects.
Many people know that the Sherman Brothers’ song “Feed the Birds” was Disney’s favorite. What few people know, is that Robert and Richard Sherman played that song in Disney’s office every Friday afternoon. That’s how Walt Disney wanted to end the workweek, listening to a personal performance from the most talented musicians of the most delightful song he knew. It was a meeting that the three of them cherished and looked forward to every week. It never got old.
Another anecdote worth retelling: Disney was persuading actress Glynis Johns to be in Mary Poppins. She was not convinced. During a meeting with her, Disney told her the “Sherman boys” had written a terrific song just for her to sing, and he was sure she would love it. The wrinkle is that there was no such song. Disney called Sherman on the phone, with Glynis listening, and said they would be over in an hour to hear “that song you wrote for Glynis.” Robert and Richard didn’t flinch. They had had an idea for a song that hadn’t been developed yet, so they got to work on it immediately, and had it ready by the time Glynis and Walt arrived at the studio. Of course she loved it. Glynis signed on for the film. Her song? It was “Practically Perfect.”
When Walt Disney died (December 15, 1966), the Sherman Brothers’ relationship with Disney Studios changed forever. They no longer had the special treatment and the top spot at the studio. They branched out and did work outside Disney projects, such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was the end of an era, a very happy era. But their creative energy and output never stopped.
Robert Sherman always loved painting, and late in life, he began painting more and more. His paintings enjoyed successful exhibitions in London during Robert’s lifetime, largely due to his son’s encouragement. Sherman’s paintings are very valuable today.
This was supposed to be a book review, but turned out more like a summary. It’s hard to resist retelling parts of this book, they are so enchanting, rather like the Disney Dreamfactory itself. Sherman had more than his share of horrors, seeing death up close in devastating detail, and he suffered many terrible setbacks throughout his life. But he also had more than his share of success, thrills, creative and professional fulfillment, and an exhilarating life filled with one adventure after another. His extreme experiences are not lost, because of his equally amazing ability to record his rare life for posterity to enjoy. The book is another in a long line of Robert Sherman’s creative accomplishments, I think it’s his best.