Robert Downey Sr.

Who was Robert Downey Sr.?

Robert John Downey Sr. (né Elias Jr.; June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. 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." He was the father of actor Robert Downey Jr.. Robert John Elias Jr. was born in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on. 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, while his mother was of half Hungarian Jewish and half Irish ancestry. He grew up in Rockville Centre, New York.

He changed his surname to Downey after his stepfather, when he wanted to enlist in the United States Army while being underage.

Historical significance

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.