The former teen idol, who now endures an illness, rose to fame in the late 1960s as a blue-eyed heartthrob, but some might be surprised to learn that he later left Hollywood for a surprising new career. From topping the charts to delivering babies, Bobby Sherman’s journey was anything but ordinary.
For a generation of fans, Bobby Sherman was the ultimate teen heartthrob. With a string of hit songs, a starring role in “Here Come the Brides,” and a face that graced countless magazine covers, he was everywhere in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
However, after stepping away from the entertainment industry, he dedicated himself to fatherhood and later found a new calling in emergency medicine. His journey — from pop sensation to lifesaver — was one few could have predicted, but it was a path he embraced wholeheartedly.
From Teen Idol to Emergency Medic
Sherman never expected to find himself in the spotlight, but fate had other plans. A former high school football player, he was discovered in the mid-1960s at a Hollywood party by Natalie Wood, Jane Fonda, and Sal Mineo.
When the trio asked him to sing, Fonda introduced him to talent agent Jack Good, the creator of ABC’s rock-and-roll show “Shindig.” Soon, Sherman became a regular on the program, winning over young fans with his shaggy mop of hair and infectious smile.
His popularity skyrocketed, making him one of the era’s biggest teen idols. In 1968, Sherman secured his most memorable role as Jeremy Bolt in “Here Come the Brides,” a comedy-adventure series set in 1870s Seattle.
The show gave him national exposure, and his music career flourished alongside his television success. Between 1969 and 1971, he released seven Top 40 hits, including “Little Woman,” “La La La (If I Had You),” “Easy Come, Easy Go,” and “Julie, Do Ya Love Me.”
His music career earned him seven gold singles, one platinum single, and five gold albums. However, Sherman’s fame extended far beyond television and radio. His face adorned lunch boxes, posters, and fan magazines.
However, the frenzy surrounding him took a toll. During his tours in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the ear-piercing screams of his predominantly female audiences were so overwhelming that he eventually suffered hearing loss.
In addition to this, the young star’s grueling schedule wore him down. “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 explained.
“It was so hectic for three years that I didn’t know what home was,” he added. Despite this, he continued acting, starring in the short-lived 1971 “Partridge Family” spinoff “Getting Together.”
In the series, he portrayed a struggling songwriter trying to break into the music business. Unfortunately, the show was scheduled against “All in the Family” and was canceled after just half a season.
In 1986, he landed a role on “Sanchez of Bel Air,” but by this point, he was ready for a change. Without formally retiring, Sherman gradually stepped away from the entertainment industry.
He built a recording studio in his garage, where he worked on film and television scores while making occasional guest appearances on shows like “The Love Boat” and “Murder, She Wrote.”
However, his career took an unexpected turn when he guest-starred on “Emergency!” The experience ignited a passion for medicine, leading him to become a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) in real life.
“I always had kind of an affinity for medicine,” Sherman said. “In biology, I wasn’t the least bit squeamish; I was just fascinated by it all. But I never pursued it until I had two sons.”
“As kids grow up, they fall down, scrape their knees, get bloody noses. My ex-wife was very squeamish when it came to blood, especially our kids’ blood, so it was kind of up to me. I took a basic first aid CPR class, just in case, and found I had a knack for it,” he shared.
“Eventually, if I’d be driving down the street and there was an accident and there was no medical help on hand, I’d get out and, since I usually had some stuff with me, I’d help,” Sherman continued.
His interest deepened, and by the 1980s, Sherman advanced from EMT to EMTD (Emergency Medical Technician-Defibrillation). He later became an instructor, spending a decade training others.
His reputation as a skilled medic led the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to recruit him as a medical training officer in 1992. “It’s a labor of love to be able to teach these officers how to patch people up,” Sherman said.
“There’s not a better feeling in the world than knowing these people are out there, helping someone out, saving someone’s life,” he added.
Sherman dedicated 40 to 60 hours per month to the LAPD, refusing to profit from his work. Although he was technically on the payroll, he donated his earnings back to the department.
His dedication to emergency medicine went beyond training — he actively responded to calls, even delivering five babies in the field.
“It’s tremendously rewarding, which is why I always say in concert that everyone should take the time to learn first aid and CPR, because it works,” he stated.
One particularly memorable delivery occurred when a mother, who had received no prenatal care and had no idea of her due date, unexpectedly went into labor on a sidewalk.
“Her husband spotted our car and waved us down,” Sherman recalled. His partner, experiencing his first delivery, watched in awe as the former heartthrob assisted in bringing a baby girl into the world.
Afterward, the mother turned to Sherman’s partner and asked for his name. When he responded, “Bobby,” she named her daughter Roberta. “I was glad he didn’t tell her my name was Sherman,” he joked.
However, despite stepping away from the entertainment industry for a life as an EMT, Sherman’s fame lingered, sometimes attracting unwanted attention. In 1994, a fan named Ethel Richards, traveled from Manchester, Maine, to California in an attempt to meet him.
She had been sending letters for a month, expressing admiration and requesting a visit. Though the letters were not threatening, Sherman did not respond. Richards was eventually arrested outside the gates of his Encino home on suspicion of stalking.
Despite this unsettling experience, Sherman remained in the public eye, making a brief return to the stage in 1998 as part of “The Teen Idol Tour” alongside Peter Noone and his former “Monkees” co-stars Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz.
At 55 years old, he credited the timing of the tour to a resurgence in 1970s nostalgia. Though the former star had no aspirations of reviving his pop career, the transition back to performing was easier than expected. “It’s like riding a bike,” he said.
Sherman performed his final solo concert in Lincoln, Rhode Island, on August 25, 2001. His legacy as a teen idol was cemented when “TV Guide” ranked him #8 on its list of “TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols” in 2005.
Love, Fatherhood, Life Beyond Fame, and a Health Diagnosis
In 1971, Sherman married his first wife, Patti Carnel. The couple first met when Carnel’s friend lived in the same apartment building as the teen idol. Initially uninterested, Carnel agreed to meet him under the guise of needing to use his phone.
The plan worked, leading to an invitation to visit the following day. “He’s just so intelligent and has such a good sense of humor that you can’t help but like him,” she said.
Sherman first dated Carnel’s friend before eventually asking Carnel out. Their marriage lasted seven years, and together they had two sons, Christopher and Tyler.
Sherman took an active role in fatherhood from the very beginning, attending Lamaze classes and even helping deliver both of his boys.
A lifelong model-building enthusiast, he even went as far as to construct a scaled-down replica of Disneyland’s Main Street in his backyard for his sons, creating lasting memories for his children.
