Robert Downey Sr.

Robert John Downey Sr. (Template:Né Elias Jr.; June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He was known for writing and directing the underground films Putney Swope (1969), a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world, and Greaser's Palace (1972), a surrealist Western. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, Downey's films during the 1960s were "strictly take-no-prisoners affairs, with minimal budgets and outrageous satire, effectively pushing forward the countercultural agenda of the day."<ref>Wheeler Winston Dixon, Rutgers University Press, July 11, 2007, Film Talk: Directors at Work, Retrieved November 10, 2014 (see page xi Introduction paragraph 3), Template:ISBN</ref> He was the father of American actor Robert Downey Jr.

Early life

Robert John Downey Sr. was born Robert John Elias Jr. in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on June 24, 1936.<ref name=bookref1>Template:Cite book</ref> He was the son of Elizabeth "Betty" McLauchlen, a model and magazine editor, and Robert John Elias Sr., who worked in management of motels and restaurants.<ref name=bookref1 /> His paternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while his mother was of half Hungarian Jewish and half Irish ancestry.<ref name="hgatesbookref1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:YouTube</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=NYT>Template:Cite news</ref> He grew up in Rockville Centre, New York.<ref name = NYTObit>Template:Cite news</ref> He changed his surname to Downey after his stepfather, when he wanted to enlist in the United States Army while being underage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=NYT /> Downey later said he wrote an unpublished novel during his time in the army, though he spent much of his military career "in the stockade".<ref name = NYTObit />

Career

Downey initially made his mark creating very low-budget independent films aligning with the absurdist movement, in line with counterculture, anti-establishment, 1960s America. His work in the late 1960s and 1970s was quintessential anti-establishment, reflecting the nonconformity popularized by larger counterculture movements and given impetus by new freedoms in films, such as the breakdown of film censorship codes. In keeping with the underground tradition, his 1970s films were independently made on shoestring budgets and were relatively obscure in the Absurdist movement, finding cult notoriety.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1961, working with film editor Fred von Bernewitz, Downey began writing and directing low-budget 16mm films that gained an underground following, beginning with Ball's Bluff (1961), a fantasy short about a Civil War soldier who awakens in Central Park in 1961. He moved into big-budget filmmaking with the surrealistic Greaser's Palace (1972).<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref> His last film was Rittenhouse Square (2005), a documentary capturing life in a Philadelphia park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Downey's films were often family affairs. His first wife appears in four of his films (Chafed Elbows, Pound, Greaser's Palace, Moment to Moment), as well as co-writing one (Moment to Moment). Daughter Allyson and son Robert Downey Jr. each made their film debuts in the 1970 absurdist comedy Pound at the ages of 7 and 5, respectively; Allyson would appear in one more film by her father, Up the Academy. Robert Jr.'s lengthy acting résumé includes appearances in eight films directed by his father (Pound, Greaser's Palace, Moment to Moment, Up the Academy, America, Rented Lips, Too Much Sun, Hugo Pool), as well as two acting appearances in movies where his father was also an actor (Johnny Be Good, Hail Caesar).<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/><ref name=Weldon/>

Unmade projects include a script written in the 1980s for Hal Ashby to direct, variously referred to under the titles Victor Hiatus and Almost Together,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and a film set to be executive produced by Paul Thomas Anderson in the 2000s, Forest Hills Bob.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Personal life and death

Downey was married three times. His first marriage was to actress Elsie Ann Ford (1934–2014) in 1962, with whom he had two children: actress-writer Allyson (b. 1963) and actor Robert Jr. (b. 1965). The marriage ended in divorce in 1975. His second marriage, to actress-writer Laura Ernst, lasted until her death on January 27, 1994, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).<ref name="NYTObit" /> In 1998, he married his third wife, Rosemary Rogers, humorist and co-author of Saints Preserve Us! and other books. They lived in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Downey died of complications from Parkinson's disease in his sleep at his home in Manhattan, on July 7, 2021, thirteen days after his 85th birthday.<ref name="NYTObit" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Legacy

The Criterion Collection released five of his films (the National Film Registry inductee Putney Swope, Babo 73, Chafed Elbows, No More Excuses and Taos Tonight) as part of the Eclipse Series.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A 2022 documentary film simply called "Sr." was made by Chris Smith of American Movie fame and was produced by his son. It won the National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Filmography

Film

Filmmaking credits

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes	Template:Abbr
1953	The American Road	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Short film; cinematographer	<ref name=Blistein>Template:Cite news</ref>
1961	Balls Bluff	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Short film; also actor	<ref name=BFI>Template:Cite web</ref>
1964	A Touch of Greatness	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Yes	Documentary film; also cinematographer	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">Template:Cite web</ref>
1964	Babo 73	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM>Template:Cite web</ref>
1965	Sweet Smell of Sex	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also cinematographer	<ref name=TCM/>
1966	Chafed Elbows	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1968	No More Excuses	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Also actor	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1969	Putney Swope	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Also uncredited voice dubbing	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1970	Pound	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1971	Cold Turkey	Template:Partial	Template:No	Template:No		<ref name=TCM/>
1972	Greaser's Palace	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1973	Sticks and Bones	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Television film	<ref name=BFI/>
1975	Moment to Moment	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:Abbr Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name="TVG Filmography">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1980	Up the Academy	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
	The Gong Show Movie	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1986	America	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1988	Rented Lips	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1991	Too Much Sun	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1997	Hugo Pool	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=AFI/>
2005	Rittenhouse Square	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Documentary film	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=AFI/>

Acting credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1969	Putney Swope	Putney Swope (Voice)	Uncredited, Dubbing Arnold Johnson
1969	Naughty Nurse	Desk Clerk	Short film	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1971	You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat	Head of Ad Agency		<ref name=TCM/>
1971	Is There Sex After Death?	Himself	Mockumentary and mondo film	<ref name=BFI/><ref name=TCM/>
1985	To Live and Die in L.A.	Agent Thomas Bateman		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1988	Johnny Be Good	NCAA Investigator Floyd Gondoli		<ref name=TCM/><ref name=AFI>Template:Cite web</ref>
1994	Hail Caesar	Butler		<ref name=Weldon>Template:Cite book</ref>
1996	The Sunchaser	Telephone Voices		<ref name=BFI/><ref name="TVG Filmography"/>
1997	Boogie Nights	Burt		<ref name=BFI/><ref name=TCM/>
1999	Magnolia	WDKK Show Director		<ref name=BFI/><ref name=TCM/>
2000	The Family Man	Man in House		<ref name=BFI/><ref name=TCM/>
2004	From Other Worlds	Baker		<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
2011	Tower Heist	Judge Ramos		<ref name=TCM/><ref name=BFI/>
2022	"Sr."	Himself	Documentary film	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Abbr
1985–1986	The Twilight Zone	Mr. Miller	also directed 3 episodes acted in segment: "Wordplay"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1987	Matlock	Judge Warren Anderson	Season 2, Episode 3: “The Annihilator”	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/>
1988	Moving Target	Weinberg	Television film	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/><ref name=TCM/>
1988–1989	1st & Ten	Mike McDonald / Reporter #4 / Reporter / Sports Writer	4 episodes	<ref name=Evans>Template:Cite web</ref> <ref name=Beresford>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1993	Tales of the City	Edgar's Doctor	Miniseries; 1 episode	<ref name=BFI/><ref name=TCM/>

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Eclipse Series 33: Up All Night with Robert Downey Sr. on The Criterion Collection