Robert B. Sherman, 86, composer for films

How do you sum up the work of songwriter Robert B. Sherman? Try one word:

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The tongue-twisting term, sung by the magical nanny Mary Poppins, is like much of Sherman's work - both complex and instantly memorable for child and adult alike.

Mr. Sherman, who died in London on Monday at 86, was half of a sibling partnership that put songs into the mouths of nannies and Cockney chimney sweeps, jungle animals and Parisian felines.

Robert Sherman and his brother Richard composed scores for films including The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They also wrote the most-played tune on Earth, "It's a Small World (After All)."

Mr. Sherman's agent, Stella Richards, said Tuesday that he died peacefully.

His son, Jeffrey, paid tribute to his father on Facebook, saying he "wanted to bring happiness to the world and, unquestionably, he succeeded." Jeffrey Sherman told the Associated Press that his father learned the craft of songwriting from his own father, the Tin Pan Alley composer Al Sherman.

"His rule in writing songs was, keep it singable, simple and sincere," Jeffrey Sherman said. "In the simplest things you find something universal."

The Sherman brothers' career was long, prolific, and garlanded with awards. They won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins - best score, and best song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee." They won a Grammy for best movie or TV score.

Their hundreds of credits as joint lyricists and composers also include the films Winnie the Pooh, The Slipper and the Rose, Snoopy Come Home, Charlotte's Web, and The Magic of Lassie. Their Broadway musicals included 1974's Over Here! and stagings of Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the mid-2000s.

The brothers' awards included 23 gold and platinum albums. President George W. Bush awarded them the National Medal of Arts in 2008.

Robert Bernard Sherman was born in New York City on Dec. 19, 1925, and raised there and in Beverly Hills. His affection for Britain was nurtured during his service with the Army in World War II. One of the first American soldiers to enter the Dachau concentration camp - and, his son said, the only Jewish serviceman there - he was shot in a knee in Germany in 1945, and recovered in hospitals in England.

Robert Sherman moved to Britain in 2002 after the death of his wife, Joyce. In addition to his brother and son, he is survived by another son, Robert, and two daughters, Laurie and Andrea.