60s & 70s Teen Idol, Bobby Sherman, Has Passed Away At The Age Of 81
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Bobby Sherman, actor turned bubblegum pop teen idol sensation, passed away on June 24th. The retired entertainer revealed that he had stage four kidney cancer earlier this year. His death was revealed by Full House star and occasional Beach Boy John Stamos, who shared the announcement from his wife, Brigitte Poublon.
“Bobby left this world holding my hand — just as he held up our life with love, courage, and unwavering grace through all 29 beautiful years of marriage. I was his Cinderella, and he was my prince charming. Even in his final days, he stayed strong for me. That's who Bobby was-brave, gentle, and full of light.”
Born Robert Cabot Sherman Jr on July 22, 1943, in Santa Monica, California, he began his career in 1962, when Sal Mineo wrote two songs for him to record. This led to the release of his first single, “Judy, You’ll Never Know (I’ll Never Tell You)”/”The Telegram.” Two years later, Mineo invited him to sing with his band at a Hollywood party that had many actors and agents in attendance, and this led to him becoming a house singer for the show Shindig! on ABC. He recorded several records with Decca and released his first album, Bobby Sherman, in 1969. Sherman quickly became a bubblegum pop sensation. His song, “Little Woman,” reached number three on the Billboard charts in the same year as the release of his first album. He continued releasing music well into the ‘70s, and he toured to hordes of screaming girls, which caused him some hearing loss.
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Concurrently with his music career, he also had a rather lucrative acting career. He made several guest spots on various popular shows of the time, including The Monkees (a show that spawned another musical group popular with teenage girls), Honey West, Mod Squad, Emergency!, The Love Boat, The Partridge Family, and even an appearance on Cheers spin-off Frasier during his brief return to entertainment in the ‘90s. However, it was the role of Jeremy Bolt in the 1969 TV western Here Comes the Brides that truly put him on the map, and he appeared in all 52 episodes of the western. After the series ended, he starred in Getting Together as Bobby Conway, a character he reprised from his guest appearance on The Partridge Family. He appeared in two films, 1975’s He is My Brother, and the 1986 cult film, Get Crazy.
Sherman was known for his squeaky clean image, which made him an oddity in an era where pop music was moving in a more subversive direction. Nonetheless, his popularity with teenage girls was “a reassuring totem against the riots, drugs, war protests and free love that raged outside," as said by The Tulsa World in 1997. However, he soon grew tired of the spotlight and found a new calling. Inspired by his guest spot on Emergency!, he became a paramedic.
"I'd film five days a week, get on a plane on a Friday night and go someplace for matinee and evening shows Saturday and Sunday, then get on a plane and go back to the studio to start filming again,” Sherman said to the Washington Post, “It was so hectic for three years that I didn't know what home was."
He shifted his career fully from an entertainer to a full-time emergency technician in 1988. However, he briefly returned to performing in 1998, and Sherman performed his last full-length concert in 2001. The former teen idol still made appearances at charities and corporate events, however. He became a reserve deputy sheriff in 1999, the same year he was named LAPD’s reserve officer of the year. Sherman had a long affinity for medicine, becoming his family’s first-aid provider as he and his wife raised their children.
"If I see an accident, I feel compelled to stop and give aid even if I'm in my own car," Sherman said to the St. Petersburg Times. "I carry equipment with me. And there's not a better feeling than the one you get from helping somebody out. I would recommend it to everybody."
Sherman founded the Brigitte & Bobby Sherman Children's (BBSC) Foundation. Its mission is to give motivated students in Ghana access to a high-quality education and music program in addition to providing them tools to access higher education.
Bobby Sherman leaves behind a legacy of feel-good pop and numerous television appearances. He is survived by his wife, Brigitte, and his two sons, Christopher and Tyler.
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Sources: The New York Times, CBS, Wikipedia
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