Ex-Tiger Beat Editor Ann Moses Remembers Her Long Friendship with Bobby Sherman (Exclusive)
From February 1968 to March 1972, Ann Moses was the editor of Tiger Beat magazine, which was known for its coverage of up-and-coming young musicians and actors. Through her job, Moses worked — and sometimes struck up friendships! — with all the teen idols, including singer and actor Bobby Sherman, star of Shindig! and Here Come the Brides. To this day, Moses and Sherman, who is currently struggling with stage 4 cancer, have remained friends.
In her own words, Ann talks about what it was like to work with one of the hottest teen idols of yesteryear.
What was it like meeting Sherman for the first time?
Ann Moses: I’m not sure how we met, but it must have been when he was first signed to appear on Here Come the Brides. An ABC television show that he did early on in his career, it was filmed at Columbia Ranch studios when he was under contract with Screen Gems.
Did he seem gracious and happy to meet you?
There was never a time when he wasn’t open and gracious and, you know, just so excited about his life. He was always just the most down-to-earth; I want to say non-star. He never acted like a star, even though he was on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine for two years straight.
Courtesy of the collection of Ann Moses
Was he easy to work with?
Oh yes, he never minded doing photoshoots with Gene Trindl, who shot all the gorgeous portraits we made into color pin-ups. Trindl used a camera that shot four-by-five negatives. With all the studio lighting, he captured Bobby’s beautiful blue eyes like no one else could.
Was he the happy-go-lucky guy that he appeared to be?
Oh yes, there was never a time I heard him say a cross word. He never spoke rudely to anyone. He was just a nice young man from Southern California. That is why Bobby always stood out—he was such a thoughtful person.
Did Sherman like having his picture plastered on the front page of all the teen magazines?
He accepted it as it goes with the territory. He even played a teen idol in the episode “Monkees at the Movies” on the TV show The Monkees. He did a parody as a big blonde bouffant teen idol who was jealous of the Monkees; it was the cutest episode.
Did he receive support throughout his career from his family?
Bobby was raised in the San Fernando Valley and had a Leave It To Beaver kind of stable family life. He had a stay-at-home mom, Juanita, and his dad, Robert, was a working father; he worked on all of Bobby’s projects; they even built a recording studio at his parents’ house. And, of course, that is where Bobby built his first Disneyland Main Street model.
Sherman and Moses look at one of the models. Courtesy collection of Ann Moses
I interviewed his mother, Juanita, for a series I ran in Tiger Beat magazine about her son, Bobby, in her own words. I went over to his parents’ house with my boyfriend, who became my first husband. It was on a Sunday afternoon, and they served us a fruity cocktail. Robert and Juanita were the sweetest couple and very cooperative. I eventually did a series in Tiger Beat with his only sibling, “My Brother Bobby Sherman by Darlene,” so we covered everyone’s point of view.
He always had the support he needed from his family, whereas most teen idols didn’t have that kind of support. He was atypical of many stars because he embraced every part of what it meant to be a TV, recording, or touring star; he just seemed to be having the time of his life.
How did Sherman treat those who worked for him?
He treated everyone with kindness. His co-stars from Here Come the Brides loved him and had the utmost respect for him. He didn’t have a big entourage. He had a long-term relationship with his manager, Ward Silver, one of the creators of The Monkees, until he passed away a couple of years ago, and that was it. He didn’t have a team of publicists or anything like that.
Was he a gentleman who opened doors, picked up the check, and showed you the utmost respect?
He was a bit older than me, but we both had the same upbringing. He had all the manners that most kids back then had learned from their parents. He was the all-American boy, unlike some of the other teen idols. He grew up learning to treat women a certain way; it was all part of his charm.
Did he have a sense of humor?
Yes, absolutely. A sense of humor was always part of being around him because he was never a serious guy who acted like, why are you bothering me?
Courtesy of the collection of Ann Moses
Did Sherman have input on what went into the magazine?
No one ever asked for input or control whatsoever. Most of the stars on the covers and in the magazines were happy to be developing their fan base. He knew he could trust that we would not do anything derogatory. After all, we were not The Inquirer. Tiger Beat magazine was squeaky clean and protected its stars’ reputations.
Did you play a big part in creating the teen idols?
I didn’t see it at the time, as I would later, but yes, we played a role in creating the teen idols. The life cycle of a teen idol was about two years. We would build them up by increasing the size of their picture on the cover and write lots of stories about them.
And when their stardom began to fade, like Bobby’s did when Here Come the Brides and Getting Together was cancelled, their photos would get smaller, and fewer stories would be written about them. Then we would start with the next up-and-coming teen idol, which, after Bobby, was David Cassidy, and after Cassidy came Donny Osmond, and so on.
What part of Sherman’s career did he enjoy most? Singing or acting?
Bobby started out as a singer. He was discovered by Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. They were all at a Hollywood party, and the local band that was playing knew Bobby and had him join them by sing a few songs. Sal and Natalie were blown away by his talent. They put him with the right people, which led to his continued appearance on the Shindig [which aired from 1964 to 1966].
Bobby had the pompadour hairdo, and then by the time Here Come the Brides came along, his style changed to the longer, softer, beautiful hair he was famous for.
He loved acting, too, and took it very seriously. His character on Here Come the Brides, Jeremy Bolt, had a stutter. Because he was portraying someone with a stuttering issue, he could reach a bigger demographic, which made fans love him even more. He was proud of how he approached and played the part.
Actor David Soul played one of his brothers on the show and was well-received by fans, but Bobby’s good looks and blue eyes sold the show to the pre-teen/teen audience.
Courtesy of the collection of Ann Moses
Did he have any hangups?
When he brought me to see his new home in Encino. It was a Spanish style house that he was still working on. I remember taking a tour of the house, and what stood out to me the most was the cameras that were up in the corner of his bedroom facing toward the four-poster bed. It wasn’t shocking; it wasn’t anything like what I’d seen in Hollywood by that point, and Bobby was married or engaged to his first wife at the time, so I took it in stride. However, that was the only thing I could think of in the way of a hangup, if you can even call it a hangup. He never complained about anything in his life or what was happening in the world. He was always a stable, happy person, which is why he was such a joy to be around.
Did he care genuinely about his fans?
When he was a small child, he was shy and didn’t come out of it until high school. During those years, he felt alone and even had an imaginary friend. So, when fans began to idolize him, it was something new and exciting, and he felt like, finally, someone really cares about me. He also cared about them.
He was absolutely fabulous when we had our Tiger Beat contests for the fans. Bobby would interact with the contest winner as soon as they arrived, take photos kissing them on the cheek, take them to lunch in his midnight blue Rolls Royce at the restaurant near Columbia Ranch — and, of course, our photographer, the fan’s chaperone, and mom went along, but they sat at another table so Bobby and the contest winner could sit and chat alone. Bobby was just one hundred percent comfortable with it all; that was the kind of guy he was.
Courtesy of the collection of Ann Moses
What was it like having him as a friend?
He was the same guy I interviewed and the same guy I knew as a friend. He didn’t have two separate personalities like most stars do. He made my job a dream, and our friendship was very special. When I visited him at his Encino home, he would drive me around in his golf cart down the dirt paths; we would give his bloodhounds dog treats and take photos of him rolling around on the ground with the dogs. I don’t think there was a time when he said I don’t want to do that, and we never asked him anything out of bounds. It was just such a wonderful working relationship and friendship.
Courtesy of the collection of Ann Moses
When Sherman was ready to leave show business when he did? Did he have a hard time transitioning back to a normal everyday life?
After they cancelled Here Come the Brides, he had a guest role on The Partridge Family in the last episode (“A Knight in Shining Armor”), of the first season, which his manager, Ward, was affiliated with. ABC used that episode as the pilot for another show, Getting Together, which starred Bobby along with Wes Stern as writing duos Bobby Conway and Lionel Poindexter. [The show ran from 1971 to 1972 and had 14 episodes. Sherman sang the theme song for the show, “Getting Together.” ]
We ran a special issue in Tiger Beat about Bobby and his starring role on the show Getting Together, where I interviewed him and all the cast. It was a cute show, and I was disappointed it was cancelled. We all wanted to see that show continue; even Bobby was disappointed. He continued to tour until 1999, but he also found a rewarding career that he loved just as much as being a celebrity.
What did he do with the rest of his life?
He had a hard time for a while, you know how most of them do and pondered on the thought, ‘Well, what’s next?’
I left Tiger Beat in 1972 and didn’t hear from him much during that time, but I did hear he was helping injured people on the freeways, which eventually lead him to become an EMT.
He embraced that role as much as he did the stuttering Jeremy Bolt role he played on Here Come the Brides. He was helping people, and he found it extremely fulfilling. Many washed-up stars, or those who left show business at that time, fell into hard times because their stardom was gone. However, he found a second career he loved and continued to do until the day he retired.
Sherman went on to be a technical reserve police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He also served as a reserve deputy sheriff with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. In addition to his law enforcement work, he taught first aid and CPR to police recruits at the Los Angeles Police Academy.
Bobby Sherman now lives with his second wife, Brigitte, in their Los Angeles home. In March of 2025, he was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Remind 
1968 Retrospective
January 2018
This special expanded issue celebrates all things pop culture in 1968.
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