Red, White & Blue

RIP songwriter Richard Morton Sherman, 95. At his graduation from Beverly Hills High School, he and classmate André Previn played a duet, Previn on piano, Sherman on flute. Both would go on to win Oscars. After a stint in the service, Sherman earned a degree in Music at Bard College. He soon teamed with his older brother Robert. Their dad, Al, had hits of his own, including You Gotta Be a Football Hero. The brothers had their first Top Ten hit with Tall Paul, sung by Annette Funicello of The Mickey Mouse Club fame. It attracted the attention of Disney. In 1965 the Sherman brothers won two Academy Awards for Mary Poppins — Best Original Score and Best Original Song, Chim Chim Cher-ee. They received five other nominations through the years. They went on their own after the death of Walt in ’66, although they would work with the company in the future. They wrote You’re Sixteen, a Top Ten hit twice, Johnny Burnette in ‘60, Ringo Starr 14 years later. The brothers received nine Grammy nominations, winning three, again for MP, and Best Recording for Children in ’66 and ’75 for Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too! respectively. They were responsible for more than 25 film scores, and they have seven screenplay credits. Their work is produced on stage worldwide. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, adapted into a musical in 2002 at the London Palladium, became the longest running show in the theatre’s century-long history. Of course the brothers are members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Married twice, the second time for more than 67 years until his death, Richard was a father of three. Awesome, Sir. Facts from Wiki, photo from Google Images:

It’s World Red Head Day. Photo from GI:

Hey — you left out the most famous redhead of all time! Photo from GI:

And, arguably, the most beautiful, Rhonda Fleming. Photo from GI:

Headline from foxbusiness.com: “Burger King to release $5 value meal to compete with McDonald’s.” Pure capitalism — love it!

Not much action at the Anti-Inflation Book Shop on another gorgeous day. My thanks to Wolf, who bought America: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart & The Writers of The Daily Show, and to the woman who purchased a Nicholas Sparks translation in Russian.

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