Disney Music Legend Richard M. Sherman Dead at 95

Richard M. Sherman -- half of the Sherman Brothers songwriting duo responsible for some of the biggest Disney hits ever -- has died ... according to the Walt Disney Company.

Sherman passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, the company posted on its website. The announcement cites age-related illness as the cause of death.

Richard and his brother Robert -- who died of natural causes in 2012 -- caught their first big break in Hollywood in 1959 when their song "Tall Paul" reached #7 on the charts.

Its success caught the attention of Walt Disney who hired them to become staff songwriters for Walt Disney Studios ... where they carved at a legendary career for themselves with classics like "Jungle Book," "The Sword in the Stone," and "Aristocats," "The Parent Trap" and more. They also wrote the theme song for the Disneyland ride "It's A Small World."

However, their most iconic film has to be "Mary Poppins," for which Richard won two Academy Awards -- Best Score and Best Original Song.

The Shermans also wrote music for non-Disney films ... such as "Charlotte's Web," "The Magic of Lassie," "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella."

Richard and Robert were inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and won the National Medal of the Arts several years later. Richard never stopped working, appearing in the short film "Once Upon A Studio" just last year.

Richard's survived by his wife, Elizabeth, son Gregory, daughters Victoria and Lynda and numerous grandchildren. A private service will be held May 31. He was 95.