Robert Downey Sr.

Robert John Downey Sr. (born Robert Elias Jr.; June 24, 1936) is a retired American actor, director, producer, writer, cinematographer, and the father and namesake of actor Robert Downey Jr. He is known for writing and directing the underground film Putney Swope, a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, Downey Sr.'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."[3]

Robert Downey Sr.
Born	Robert Elias Jr. June 24, 1936[1] New York City, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Actor, director, producer, writer, cinematographer
Years active	1953–2013
Known for	Father and namesake of Robert Downey Jr.
Notable work	Putney Swope
Spouse(s)	Elsie Ann Ford ​ ​ (m. 1962; div. 1975)​ [2] Laura Ernst ​ ​ (m. 1991; died 1994)​ Rosemary Rogers ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	Allyson Downey Robert Downey Jr.
Parent(s)	Robert Elias Sr. Elizabeth McLauchlen

Early life

Robert John Downey Sr. was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Elizabeth (née McLauchlen), a model, and Robert Elias Sr., who worked in management of motels and restaurants.[1] His paternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews,[4] while his mother was of half Irish and half Hungarian-Jewish ancestry.[5][6][7][8][9] The elder Downey was born Robert Elias Jr., but he later changed his surname for his stepfather, James Downey, when he wanted to enlist in the U.S. Army, but was underage at the time.[10][9]

Career

Robert Downey Sr. initially made his mark creating basement budget, independent films aligning with the Absurdist movement, coming of age in counterculture anti-establishment 1960s America. His work in the late 1960s and 70s 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 Codes on censorship. In keeping with the underground tradition, his 1970s films were independently made on shoestring budgets and were relatively obscure in the Absurdist movement, finding culture notoriety.

In 1961, working with the film editor Fred von Bernewitz, he 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).[11] His most recent film was Rittenhouse Square (2005), a documentary capturing life in a Philadelphia park.[12]

Downey's films were often family affairs. His first wife, Elsie, appears in four of his movies (Chafed Elbows, Pound, Greaser's Palace, Moment to Moment), as well as co-writing one (Moment to Moment). Daughter Allyson and son Robert 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).

Personal life

Downey has been married three times. His first marriage was to actress Elsie Ann Downey (née Ford), with whom he had two children: actress-writer Allyson Downey and actor Robert Downey Jr. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975. His second marriage, to actress-writer Laura Ernst, ended with her 1994 death from Lou Gehrig's disease. In 1998 he married his third wife, Rosemary Rogers, author of Random House bestseller Saints Preserve Us! and seven other books. They live in New York City.[13]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Credit	Notes
1953	The American Road		Cinematographer	Short film
1961	Balls Bluff	Civil War Union soldier	Director, writer, and producer	Short film
1964	A Touch of Greatness		Director, producer, and cinematographer	Documentary
1964	Babo 73		Director, writer, and producer
1965	Sweet Smell of Sex		Director, writer, and cinematographer
1966	Chafed Elbows		Director, writer, and producer
1966	Literature Au-Go-Go		Cinematographer and editor
1968	No More Excuses	Pvt. Stewart Thompson	Director, writer, and producer
1969	Putney Swope		Director and writer	Voice, uncredited
1969	Naughty Nurse	Desk Clerk		Short film
1970	Pound		Director and writer
1971	You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat	Head of Ad Agency
1971	Is There Sex After Death?	Himself		Mockumentary and mondo film
1971	Cold Turkey		Second unit director
1972	Greaser's Palace		Director and writer
1973	Sticks and Bones		Director and writer	Television film
1975	Moment to Moment		Director and writer	Retitled Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight
1980	Up the Academy		Director
1980	The Gong Show Movie		Co-writer
1985	To Live and Die in L.A.	Thomas Bateman
1985–1986	The Twilight Zone	Mr. Miller	Director	Directed 3 episodes acted in segment: "Wordplay"
1986	America		Director and co-writer
1986	Matlock	Judge Warren Anderson		Episode: "Judge Warren Anderson"
1988	Rented Lips		Director
1988	Moving Target	Weinberg		Television film
1988	Johnny Be Good	NCAA Investigator Floyd Gondoli
1988–1989	1st & Ten	Mike McDonald / Reporter #4 / Reporter / Sports Writer		4 episodes
1991	Too Much Sun		Director and co-writer
1993	Tales of the City	Edgar's Doctor		Miniseries; 1 episode
1994	Hail Caesar	Butler
1996	Sunchaser	Telephone voices
1997	Hugo Pool		Director and co-writer
1997	Boogie Nights	Burt
1999	Magnolia	WDKK Show Director
2000	The Family Man	Man in House
2004	From Other Worlds	Baker
2005	Rittenhouse Square		Director	Documentary
2011	Tower Heist	Judge Ramos

References

1. Duchovnay, Gerald (2012). Film Voices: Interviews from Post Script. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780791484753.
2. Finn, Natalie (September 26, 2014). "Robert Downey Jr.'s Mother Dies: Read His Moving, Candid Tribute to Elsie Ann Downey". E! Online. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
3. Wheeler Winston Dixon, Rutgers University Press, July 11, 2007, Film Talk: Directors at Work, Retrieved November 10, 2014 (see page xi Introduction paragraph 3), ISBN 978-0-8135-4077-1
4. Bloom, Nate (April 12, 2012). "Celebrity Jews: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Barbara Walters, Larry David, Ben Stiller & more". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
5. Gates, Henry Louis (September 15, 2014) [First published 2014]. "Robert Downey Jr.". Finding Your Roots: The Official Companion to the PBS Series (1st ed.). UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1469618012. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
6. Robert Downey Jr. – Inside The Actors Studio Pt. 1 on YouTube
7. Daisy Fried (May 1, 1997). "Senior Class". Philadelphia City Paper. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
8. Hedegaard, Erik (August 21, 2008). "To Hell and Back With Robert Downey Jr". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
9. Diamond, Jamie (December 20, 1992). "FILM; Robert Downey Jr. Is Chaplin (on Screen) and a Child (Off)". The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
10. Fulton, Rick (October 27, 2010). "Robert Downey Jr: I don't even know what it's like to be stoned any more". Daily Record.
11. Vincent Canby. "Review: Greaser's Palace". The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
12. "Rittenhouse Square (2005) IMDB". IMDb. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
13. "Rosemary Rogers, Robert Downey". The New York Times. May 10, 1998. Retrieved August 1, 2008.

External links

• Robert Downey Sr. at IMDb