ENCINO : Bobby Sherman Fan Accused of Stalking

It’s been more than 20 years since Bobby Sherman made the girls squeal to his bubble-gum rock.

For at least one fan, police say, Sherman has retained the old magic.

Ethel Richards, 39, was in jail Thursday after police arrested her on suspicion of stalking Sherman. The woman--who took a bus from her home in Manchester, Me.--was taken into custody outside the gates of Sherman’s Encino home late Wednesday afternoon.

Richards had been sending Sherman letters for a month, asking to visit and telling him she had been a fan since she was a teen-ager, Los Angeles Police Detective Jeff Dunn said.

The letters, which were not threatening, went unanswered, he said.

“There wasn’t much stock put in it,” Dunn said. “It was nothing like ‘I’m going to come out there and take care of your wife so we can be together.’ ”

Richards was undeterred by the lack of response, Dunn said. She traveled on a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles. When she arrived Wednesday, she made a beeline for her idol’s Encino home, Dunn said.

She arrived at the gated entrance at about 3 p.m. and rang the bell, Dunn said. Sherman watched her through a security camera and called police.

When police arrived, Richards had left, Dunn said. She returned at about 5:15 p.m., and Sherman again called police, who took Richards into custody.

Richards remains in the Van Nuys jail, awaiting arraignment.

Sherman, who did not return phone calls, is best remembered as the boyish performer who shot to stardom after appearing on the “Shindig” and “Here Come the Brides” television series.

His first single, “Little Woman,” earned a gold record in 1969. Subsequent hits that included “Easy Come, Easy Go,” “Julie, Do Ya Love Me” and “Cried Like a Baby” made him a favorite with teen-age and preteen girls.