Robert Downey Sr., the accomplished countercultural filmmaker, actor and father of superstar Robert Downey Jr., has died. He was 85.
Downey Jr. wrote on Instagram that his father died late Tuesday in his sleep at home in New York. He had Parkinson’s disease for more than five years.
“He was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout,” Downey Jr. wrote. “According to my stepmom’s calculations, they were happily married for just over 2000 years.”
Downey was a Hollywood journeyman who made a name for himself with radical, anti-establishment films, like the low-budget Madison Avenue advertising industry satire “Putney Swope” and the Western Jesus parable “Greaser’s Palace” starring Allan Arbus. His son, Robert Downey Jr., daughter Allyson Downey and first wife Elsie Downey also appeared in “Greaser’s Palace.”
He also acted in films, playing Thomas Bateman in “To Live and Die in L.A.”, the studio manager in “Boogie Nights” and the show director in “Magnolia.”