Filmmaker Robert Downey Sr dies at 85

Robert Downey Sr, the director of classic movie Putney Swope (1969) and father of actor Robert Downey Jr, has died. He was 85.

Downey Jr shared the news on Instagram, saying his father passed away in his sleep at home in New York City. He also revealed that Downey Sr had Parkinson’s disease for more than five years. “He was a true maverick filmmaker... According to my stepmom’s calculations, they were happily married for just over 2000 years,” he wrote.

Born on June 24, 1936 in New York City as Robert Elias

Jr, he changed his name in honour of his stepfather, James Downey, and also to get enlisted in the US Army early. After completing his service, he started his movie career with 1961 short film Ball’s Bluff, which he wrote and directed, and followed with offbeat indies like 1964’s Babo 73, Chafed Elbows (1966) and No More Excuses in 1968. But, it was Putney Swope that brought him recognition. An anti-establishment satire, it was set in the world of advertising, and was praised for its portrayal of race in Hollywood, white power structure and corporate corruption.

His other credits included 1973 TV film Sticks and Bones, Up the Academy (1980) and episodes of TV series, including The Twilight Zone reboot.

Downey Sr, who also starred in many films, married actor Elsie Anne Downey in 1962. They had two children, Allyson Downey and Robert Downey Jr. After their divorce in 1975, he married actor Laura Ernst, who died in 1994. He later married author Rosemary Rogers.

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ ROBERTDOWNEYJR