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The Roundtable

Todd James Pierce's new book is "Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of a Classic Film"

By Joe Donahue

Published January 14, 2026 at 11:44 AM EST

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Long before Mary Poppins danced across the rooftops of Edwardian London and into the hearts of millions. Robert and Richard Sherman were struggling songwriters in Los Angeles California trying to find their voices and their futures.

In the new book “Making Mary Poppins: The Sherman Brothers, Walt Disney, and the Creation of a Classic Film” author and Disney historian Todd James Pierce traces the unlikely path that brought the Sherman brothers to Walt Disney’s attention and how their genius and emotional lives shaped the films’ songs, and surprising stories.

Todd James Pierce is an author, a professor of English, and host of the popular “Disney History Institute Podcast.”

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Joe Donahue

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.

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