Robert Downey Sr. Movies and Career Information

Robert John Downey, Sr. (born 1937) is an American actor, writer, film director and father of actor Robert Downey, Jr. He is known as the director and writer of the cult classic feature film Putney Swope, a biting satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. Downey's father was Russian Jewish and his mother was Irish Catholic. He was born Robert Elias, but changed his last name to "Downey" (after his stepfather James Downey) when he was a minor and wanted to enlist in the Army. He is the father of actor Robert Downey, Jr. and actress–writer Allyson Downey, both children from his first marriage to actress Elsie Downey. They were divorced in 1975. Downey, Sr.'s second marriage, to the actress-writer Laura Ernst, ended with her 1994 death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He currently lives in New York City with his wife, Rosemary Rogers, whom he married in 1998. By the age of 22, Downey had served in the Army, played semi-pro baseball, become a Golden Gloves champion and an Off-Off-Broadway playwright. In 1961, working with the film editor Fred von Bernewitz, he began writing and directing low-budget 16mm films which gained an underground following, beginning with