Robert Downey Sr. Has Passed Away at 85
Robert Downey Sr., actor, director, and father of Robert Downey Jr., passed away in his sleep at 85 years old in New York last Wednesday.
While many will deduce that Downey Sr. was simply the father of Robert Downey Jr., he was an accomplished actor and director first and foremost. He starred in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Family Man at the end of the 1990s and at the turn of the century. He also directed a number of cult classic films, but his breakthrough work as a director was Putney Swope, which was released back in 1969 to much controversy, as a satire of men working in advertising on Madison Avenue.
Downey Sr. had a special brand of humor evident in his work, such as Pound, a 1970s film about humans playing dogs waiting for adoption in the pound, and Greaser’s Palace, which was a reimagining of the life of Jesus Christ as a spaghetti western. No doubt that would have turned some heads at the time as well. Greaser’s Palace and Putney Swope both made Time and New York Magazine‘s top 10 films of the year, respectively. Downey Sr. made many outrageously funny films over the next few decades, before working on Hugo Pool in 1994 after his wife died of ALS. The film debuted at Sundance Festival and raised awareness of ALS.
Robert Downey Sr. was born in New York to model Elizabeth McLoughlin and Robert Elias. He took the name of his step-father, James Downey, when he enlisted in the army.
He is survived by his third wife Rosemary Rogers-Downey, and his children Robert Downey Jr. and Allyson Downey. His son Robert posted about his father’s passing on social media, acknowledging his long battle with Parkinson’s disease and praising him as a “maverick filmmaker.”
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Robert Downey Sr. was indeed a maverick filmmaker, creating works that shocked and entertained audiences in equal measure. May he rest in peace.
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