| Robert Downey Sr. | |
| Birth Name: | Robert John Elias Jr. |
| Birth Date: | 24 June 1936 |
| Birth Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Children: | 2, including Robert Jr. |
| Years Active: | 1953–2011 |
Robert John Downey Sr. (Elias Jr.; June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He was known for writing and directing his underground film Putney Swope (1969), a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. 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."[1] He was the father of the renowned American movie superstar Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey Sr. was born Robert John Elias Jr. in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on June 24, 1936.[2] 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. His paternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews,[3] while his mother was of half Hungarian Jewish and half Irish ancestry.[4] [5] [6] [7] He grew up in Rockville Centre, New York.[8] He changed his surname to Downey after his stepfather, when he wanted to enlist in the United States Army while being underage.[9] Downey later said he wrote an unpublished novel during his time in the army, though he spent much of his military career "in the stockade".
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.[10]
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).[11] His last film was Rittenhouse Square (2005), a documentary capturing life in a Philadelphia park.[12]
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).
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. 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.[13] 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.[14] [15]
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.[16] 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.[17]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | data-sort-value="American Road, The" | The American Road | Short film; cinematographer | [18] | ||||||||
| 1961 | Balls Bluff | Short film; also actor | [19] | |||||||||
| 1964 | A Touch of Greatness | Documentary film; also cinematographer | [20] | |||||||||
| Babo 73 | [21] | |||||||||||
| 1965 | Sweet Smell of Sex | Also cinematographer | ||||||||||
| 1966 | Chafed Elbows | - | 1966 | Literature Au-Go-Go | Unknown | Cinematographer, editor | --> | |||||
| 1968 | No More Excuses | Also actor | ||||||||||
| 1969 | Putney Swope | Also uncredited voice dubbing | ||||||||||
| 1970 | Pound | |||||||||||
| 1971 | Cold Turkey | |||||||||||
| 1972 | Greaser's Palace | |||||||||||
| 1973 | Sticks and Bones | Television film | ||||||||||
| 1975 | Moment to Moment | Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight | [22] | |||||||||
| 1980 | Up the Academy | |||||||||||
| The Gong Show Movie | ||||||||||||
| 1986 | America | |||||||||||
| 1988 | Rented Lips | |||||||||||
| 1991 | Too Much Sun | |||||||||||
| 1997 | Hugo Pool | |||||||||||
| 2005 | Rittenhouse Square | Documentary film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Putney Swope | Putney Swope (Voice) | Uncredited, Dubbing Arnold Johnson | ||
| Naughty Nurse | Desk Clerk | Short film | [23] | ||
| 1971 | You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat | Head of Ad Agency | |||
| Is There Sex After Death? | Himself | Mockumentary and mondo film | |||
| 1985 | To Live and Die in L.A. | Agent Thomas Bateman | |||
| 1988 | Johnny Be Good | NCAA Investigator Floyd Gondoli | [24] | ||
| 1994 | Hail Caesar | Butler | [25] | ||
| 1996 | The Sunchaser | Telephone Voices | |||
| 1997 | Boogie Nights | Burt | |||
| 1999 | Magnolia | WDKK Show Director | |||
| 2000 | The Family Man | Man in House | |||
| 2004 | From Other Worlds | Baker | |||
| 2011 | Tower Heist | Judge Ramos | |||
| 2022 | "Sr." | Himself | Documentary film | [26] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1986 | The Twilight Zone | Mr. Miller | also directed 3 episodes acted in segment: "Wordplay" | [27] [28] | |
| 1987 | Matlock | Judge Warren Anderson | Season 2, Episode 3: “The Annihilator” | ||
| 1988 | Moving Target | Weinberg | Television film | ||
| 1988–1989 | 1st & Ten | Mike McDonald / Reporter #4 / Reporter / Sports Writer | 4 episodes | [29] [30] | |
| 1993 | Tales of the City | Edgar's Doctor | Miniseries
| ||
| 2015 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Tina Fey & Amy Poehler/Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band" |