Bobby Sherman, the teen idol and actor who captured the hearts of millions with his boyish good looks and bubblegum pop hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, died Tuesday, June 24, at age 81. His wife, Brigitte Poublon, announced his death on social media through his friend and actor John Stamos.
Poublon revealed in March that Sherman had been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer. In her announcement, she indicated that “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.”
Robert Cabot Sherman Jr. was born July 22, 1943, in Santa Monica, California, to Robert Cabot Sherman, a milkman, and Juanita Freeman Sherman. He grew up in Van Nuys, where he graduated from Birmingham High School and later attended Pierce College in Woodland Hills without graduating.
Sherman’s entertainment career began at age 19 when he met actor Sal Mineo, who helped him record songs and invited him to perform at a Hollywood party. The performance caught the attention of celebrities including Jane Fonda, Natalie Wood, and Mineo himself, leading to representation and his first television role as a kidnapping victim on the detective series “Honey West” in 1965.
His breakthrough came as a regular performer on “Shindig!” from 1964 to 1966, a rock-music variety show that aired twice weekly during its second season. The exposure led to his starring role on the ABC comedy-western “Here Come the Brides” from 1968 to 1970, where he played Jeremy Bolt, a bashful 19th-century Seattle lumberjack. The show generated 25,000 pieces of fan mail weekly for Sherman.
Sherman’s recording career flourished simultaneously with his television success. His first single, “Little Woman,” reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1969, earning gold certification. Three more Top 10 hits followed in rapid succession: “La La La (If I Had You)” reached number nine in January 1970, “Easy Come, Easy Go” hit the same position three months later, and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me” peaked at number five in September 1970.
By the end of 1972, Sherman had achieved seven gold singles, one platinum single, and 10 gold albums. His album “Here Comes Bobby” spent 48 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 10. TV Guide ranked him eighth on its 2005 list of the 25 greatest teen idols, ahead of Davy Jones and Troy Donahue.
Sherman’s popularity extended beyond music and television. His image appeared on lunchboxes, cereal boxes, and posters, while he graced the covers of Tiger Beat and Sixteen magazines regularly. His appeal was so widespread that even Marge Simpson confessed to having a crush on him in an episode of “The Simpsons.”
After “Here Come the Brides” ended, Sherman starred in “Getting Together,” a 1971 spinoff of “The Partridge Family” about two young songwriters. The show lasted only 14 episodes, unable to compete with “All in the Family” in primetime. His final television series role came in 1986 with “Sanchez of Bel-Air,” one of USA Network’s first scripted shows.
In 1972, Sherman held a news conference to address revelations about his personal life. He disclosed that he had secretly married Patti Carnel 14 months earlier when she was six months pregnant, and that he was actually 28 years old, not 25 as publicly stated. He explained he had shielded his wife from the spotlight after an earlier pregnancy ended in miscarriage.
Sherman’s entertainment career wound down by the late 1980s, but he found new purpose in public service. He became a certified emergency medical technician in 1988 and later served as chief medical training officer for the Los Angeles Police Department, teaching first aid and CPR to recruits. He donated his salary from this work.
Sherman also served as a reserve deputy with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and was named LAPD’s Reserve Officer of the Year for 1999. He received the FBI’s Exceptional Service Award and the “Twice a Citizen” Award from the Los Angeles County Reserve Foundation. By 1998, he had helped deliver five babies in car backseats and other unplanned locations during his paramedic work.
In 2004, then-Representative Howard McKeon praised Sherman on the House floor, describing him as a stellar example of the statement “to protect and serve.” Sherman later participated in the 1990s “Teen Idols Tour” with former heartthrobs Micky Dolenz and other performers from the era.
Sherman’s first marriage to Patti Carnel in 1971 ended in divorce in 1977. Carnel later married and divorced David Soul, Sherman’s co-star from “Here Come the Brides,” who died in 2024. Sherman married Poublon, a real estate agent, in 2010. Together they founded a charity that helps children in Ghana.
Sherman is survived by his wife Brigitte, two sons, Tyler and Christopher, and six grandchildren. His childhood dream had been to become a child psychologist, but his pivot to emergency medical services allowed him to fulfill his desire to work in healthcare and help others.