Robert Downey Sr., actor and filmmaker dad of Robert Jr., dead at 85
By Nadine DeNinno - New York Post
Robert Downey Sr., the filmmaker, actor and father of Robert Downey Jr., has died. He was 85.
Downey Sr. died in his sleep, his wife said, at his New York City home Wednesday, according to the Sun. He celebrated his 85th birthday last month.
Best known for his acting appearances in “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “To Live and Die in LA,” Downey Sr. had been battling Parkinson’s disease for more than five years.
Downey Jr., 56, paid tribute to his father Wednesday, calling him a “maverick.”
“RIP Bob D. Sr. 1936-2021…Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s,” he wrote. “He was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout..According to my stepmoms calculations, they were happily married for just over 2000 years. Rosemary Rogers-Downey, you are a saint, and our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
The father of stars Robert Downey Jr. and Allyson Downey, the director, writer and producer largely stayed away from press, mostly to protect his famous kids. But in 2001, when his Oscar-nominated son was facing cocaine charges, Downey Sr. spoke to The Post at length about the difficulties being in Hollywood.
“Life is too easy when you’re a movie star. People will do anything you want and get you anything you want,” he told The Post. “Hollywood is a horrible place.”
Born in New York, Downey Sr. served in the Army, played minor league baseball, was a Golden Gloves boxing champ and a playwright for off-off-Broadway productions before the age of 22, according to IMDb.
By the 1960s, he pivoted to film, writing and directing classics such as “Balls Bluff” (1961), “Babo 73” (1964), “Chafed Elbows” (1966), “No More Excuses” (1968) and “Putney Swope” (1969).
After the cult success of the satirical “Putney Swope,” he hit bottom when his career foundered in the 1970s.
“Ten years of cocaine around the clock,” he told The Post in 2001. “I didn’t beat it until ’81, until my late wife gave me an ultimatum. I officially quit in front of my son. He keeps reminding me about it. I tell him, ‘If it made such an impression on you, then why can’t you do the same thing?’ ”
The most recent film he worked on was 2011’s “Tower Heist,” which also starred Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller and Casey Affleck. As director, his final projects were 1997’s “Hugo Pool” and the 2005 documentary “Rittenhouse Square.”
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