Bobby Sherman was a significant musical star in the 1960s and 1970s. I can’t think of a single friend who hasn’t had a crush on him at some point.
Sherman released multiple albums, became a well-respected actor, performed in front of thousands of people, and sold millions of records. Eventually, however, he decided to leave the entertainment business for good at the height of his fame.
Now, this wasn’t because the star felt like his skills had deteriorated in any way. No, he had a much more significant cause, one that had to do with saving lives.
Everything you need to know about acclaimed artist Bobby Sherman is available here!
Bobby Sherman was born on July 22, 1943, in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in Van Nuys, close to Los Angeles.
When he was 11, he was said to have mastered the trumpet and the piano, trombone, keyboard, and, of course, the guitar. Sherman attended Birmingham High School. He joined a band there and discovered a love for singing. He supposedly learned to play an incredible 16 instruments during his life.
Upon graduating from high school in 1961, Sherman began studying at Pierce College in Woodland Hill, near Los Angeles. It was there that a relationship would change the course of his life for good.
Sherman met his girlfriend while studying child psychology at Pierce College. One evening, she decided to accompany him to a cast party for The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Sherman had already started playing music at that point. He sang with different bands in the San Fernando Valley, and plenty of people knew he had a good voice. So it was that when he arrived at the party, Sherman took the opportunity to flex his talent.
“I was always the guy who had the gumption to get up and sing in front of people,” he later said of it.
Bobby had friends in the band performing on stage during the party, so that probably helped a little. Regardless, he stood before everyone and sang Ray Charles’ “What I’d Say” to them.
Discovered at a Hollywood party
Because it was a Hollywood party, many celebrities from the entertainment world were present. Among them were Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, and Jane Fonda.
After the performance, they recognized his talent, and Mineo decided to take him under his wing.
“People were saying things like, ‘Who’s handling you’ I had no idea what that meant,” Sherman said.
“Well, I was a kid from Van Nuys, you know, and it was, `What do they mean, handling me?’ Then I realized they meant representation.”
He rapidly became acquainted with Hollywood. After receiving a tip from one of the partygoers, an agency took Bobby Sherman to an audition three days later. Bobby was cast in a starring role in the upcoming television show Shindig.
Bobby needed the role, which lasted two years, to leave his mark. By that point, he had won the hearts of people all around the country, and job opportunities began to sprout everywhere.
Sherman appeared as a guest star on several other shows following the cancellation of Shindig in 1966, including The Monkees, Honey West, and The FBI. Even though he was already known in Hollywood, his big break came in 1968.
Bobby Sherman – music, songs, albums, acting
Sherman starred as the stuttering Jason Bolt in Here Come The Bridges, remaining on the show for two full years. His character lost his stutter at the end of his tenure, and the show was eventually canceled.
The character of Jason Bolt proved immensely popular with fans; something Sherman realized when he appeared during a telethon in Buffalo. All of a sudden, he wasn’t just an up-and-coming name. Rather, he had become a star.
“The show had just hit the air, and we didn’t even have any records out yet,” Sherman told Tulsa World.
“Greg Morris of Mission: Impossible and Robert Brown and I from Here Come The Brides had been asked to do the telethon, and it was going along and doing very well when the fire marshall came in and said, ‘We have a problem. You’d better come up to the second floor; You’ve got to greet some people.’
“They opened up this window, and I looked out, and the parking lot of this television station was absolutely a sea of faces,” he added. “It was just unbelievable. And I got a clue then that something was happening.”
The following year became a “kind of limbo” for Bobby. However, at that moment, he turned his interest towards writing songs and trying out his eight-track recording equipment.
And so Bobby became a professional singer, though he hadn’t quite gotten recognition for his voice yet.
Bobby Sherman – family, wife, children
From 1969 through 1971, Sherman’s young fan base bought millions of recordings, and he released singles such as Little Woman, Easy Come, Easy Go, and Julie, Do Ya Love Me.
He sold a million copies of six different single recordings, and one million copies of four different recorded albums.
“A song begins with an idea – one line,” he said in 1971.” I build that into a complete lyric. Then, I fit the music around it.”
In 1970 and 1971, Sherman starred in the television show Getting Together, a The Partridge Family spinoff about two songwriters. Sherman then appeared in several other guest appearances.
His marriage to Patti Carnel, his first wife, in 1971 took place concurrently with Sherman’s ascent to stardom. The couple’s two boys, Tyler and Christopher, were born into the world.
Sherman wanted his kids to have a great place to grow up, and thus decided to build a miniature model of the Main Street of Disneyland … in his backyard. It reportedly cost him about $15,000 dollars to build, while the project took about two and a half years to complete.
Not everyone was happy with the project; his wife was said to be annoyed by the constant noise of hammers.
“I didn’t know what home was”
“At one point, she said, ‘If you don’t finish it, I’ll kill you,” Sherman joked in an interview with People.
Bobby’s kids served as the catalyst for creating his own piece of Disneyland and his new line of work.
Before Shaun Cassidy or even David Cassidy, Bobby established himself as a genuine television adolescent heartthrob. Eventually, performers like Donny Osmond “replaced” him.
But Sherman was loved by millions of followers at the height of his fame and appeared in popular television shows while making hit records.
His two most beloved albums were Sixteen and Tiger Beat.
Yet though he lived out his dream-like few others ever get to do, Sherman explained that he would usually film five days a week and even had evening shows on the weekend. Suffice it to say the busy schedule took its toll.
“It was so hectic for three years that I didn’t know what home was,” he explained.
“I was disoriented, I never knew where I was. I always had to be reminded. But, in all honesty, I must say I had the best of times because the concerts and the fans were great. It was the proverbial love-in, but it just zapped so much out of me.”
Bobby Sherman left music to save lives
Then, in the midst of his enormous fame, Bobby made the surprising decision to transition to a completely different but equally significant career.
He ultimately decided to adjust his plans and gave up his career in music and television to save lives.
The rearing of his children was something Sherman took very seriously, and Patti, his then-wife, was frightened of blood. Accidents always happen, as any parent would attest, and Christopher and Tyler frequently trip and get hurt.
These falls occasionally caused minor cuts and wounds, including bloody knees. Sherman enrolled in several classes to be best equipped to handle such circumstances. He took an introductory course in first aid and CPR and later worked as a volunteer EMT.
“The first call, I saved a 5-year-old girl’s life. I thought, ‘yeah, that’s the most incredible feeling,’” Bobby recalled in a 1994 interview.
Sherman completed additional training and later worked for the Los Angeles Police Department as a first aid instructor for police officers.
Bobby Sherman – emergency medical technician
Bobby was sworn in as a police officer with the LAPD and appointed chief medical training officer in 1992. He displayed amazing bravery in the face of difficulty in 1994, giving birth to five children while still in the field.
Sherman awoke to an earthquake on January 17, 1994, at his Encino, California, home. He chose to drive to the epicenter in his pickup rather than hide.
Some required assistance, while others needed first aid. Bobby’s knowledge and presence were required in any scenario.
Even though Bobby’s career transition put him in danger of dealing with various challenging circumstances, he was still, at heart, an entertainer and had preserved many of his endearing traits from his time in the business. He even got to run into some of his previous supporters on the field.
He once related a tale about how paramedics from the Fire Department accompanied him on rescue calls due to his teen idol status.
Wrote autographs for patients
“On one call in Northridge, we were working on a hemorrhaging woman who had passed out,” Bobby told The Times.
“Her husband kept staring at me. Finally, he said, ‘Look, honey, it’s Bobby Sherman!’ The woman came to a start. She said, ‘Oh great, I must look a mess!’ I told her not to worry; she looked fine.”
Bobby kept recording film and television scores in his makeshift studio over the years. In 1997, he made his final appearance on television as the star of an episode of Fraiser.
He performed on the “Teen Idol Tour” in the late 1990s with Peter Noone, Davy Jones, and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees. But after that, he decided to leave the entertainment industry officially.
Sherman thanked his followers for everything and said it was difficult to maintain success.
“What I’ve done with my life and what I’ve been able to accomplish all comes down to the fact that the fans have blessed me. It’s stayed with me, so I can have the opportunity to do things that I love doing,” the star mentioned.
This is Bobby Sherman today – net worth
“I don’t think I’d change a thing — except to be maybe a little more aware of [the success], because I probably could’ve relished the fun of it a little more,” Sherman admitted. “It was a lot of work. It was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But it was the best of times.”
Bobby Sherman wed his second wife, Brigette, in 2011, and they are still married. The same year they tied the knot, they founded The Brigitte and Bobby Sherman Children’s Foundation, a Ghana-based youth center dedicated to blending music and education.
Today, Bobby is 79 years of age. I think you’ll all agree that he looks very much like himself, as he’s retained much of his familiar appearance!
Bobby Sherman was an outstanding actor and entertainer, and we will always miss those great years!