Notable Passings: Richard M. Sherman and Darryl Hickman

I wanted to take time to pay particular tribute to two people who have recently passed on and whose work meant a great deal to me, composer Richard Sherman and actor Darryl Hickman.

Sherman, seen above with his brother Robert (right), died on May 25, 2024, at the age of 95; he was just a few weeks shy of 96. The passing of the Oscar-winning Disney Legend was announced by the Walt Disney Company, where he did most of his best-known work.

I wrote extensively about the Sherman Brothers when Richard's brother Robert passed on in 2012 and would like to refer readers to that post about their impact on my life.

Suffice it to say that Sherman's music for MARY POPPINS (1964), the first film I ever saw theatrically, is among my earliest childhood memories. I would be grateful for that alone, but the Sherman Brothers' work has been a much bigger part of my life, including providing the background music for so many happy times at Disneyland. I took the above photo of the Shermans' Disneyland tribute window a few days after Richard's passing.

I'm fortunate to have seen Richard several times over the years, including singing at the 2010 Destination D Disney event and performing in concert with composer Alan Menken at Disney's 2013 D23 Expo. He's seen below at the 2010 event in a poor-quality cell phone photo.

Another place I saw Sherman over the years was on the red carpet at the 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival:

As it happens, I also photographed Darryl Hickman that evening:

Hickman died on May 22nd at the age of 92. His younger brother Dwayne, best known for TV's THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS (1959-63), died two years ago.

Darryl Hickman's film career began in 1936, with a notable early role being Winfield in John Ford's THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940).

Hickman was one of three surviving cast members of one of my favorite films, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944), where he played Johnny in the Halloween sequence (above). Margaret O'Brien and June Lockhart are now the film's surviving cast members.

Hickman was also memorable in one of the most chilling murder sequences put on film, in LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945), seen above. He continued working into the 1990s.

I'm grateful to both men for their work on projects which have had a huge impact on my life, and it's wonderful knowing their music and acting will be enjoyed for as long as movies -- and Disneyland -- exist.

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