According to Robert Downey Sr. His wife revealed that Downey, the elder, who suffered from Parkinson's, died in his sleep at his home in New York on July 7. Not only did he leave behind many works as an actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer, but he also helped lead the absurdist movement, low budget, independent film, and the counterculture and anti-establishment trends of the United States in the 1960s.
His work in the late 1960s and 1970s had typical anti-establishment ideas, echoing the non-conformity driven by larger countercultural movements that pursued greater freedom and led to the collapse of censorship. In the 1970s, his films were produced independently on a very low budget and were relatively little known in the absurdist movement.
His first underground film, Ball's Bluff, was a fantasy short film about a Civil War soldier waking up in Central Park in 1961, which made him famous in one fell swoop. He then entered the field of big-budget cinema with the surrealist film Greaser's Palace. His last film was Rittenhouse Square, a documentary about life in Philadelphia's parks.
Downey often featured his family in his own films, including his first wife, Elsie Downey, starred in four of his films (Grumpy Elbow, Life of a Dog, The Mexican's Palace, and Disordered Time), and co-authored a film (Disordered Time). His daughter Allyson Downey and son Robert Downey Jr. debuted in the absurd comedy Life of a Dog at the age of 7 and 5, respectively; Alison also appeared in another of her father's films, Oolong Military Academy. Robert Jr.'s lengthy performance resume includes eight of his father's films (Life of a Dog, The Mexican's Palace, Disordered Time and Space, Oolong Military Academy, America, The Knife Kills, The Big Sun, and Pool Girl), and the father and son appeared together in two films (The Fighter and Long Live Caesar).
Before the age of 22, Robert Downey served in the military, played in baseball minor leagues, was a Golden Glove champion and a playwright who stayed outside Of Broadway. Then Downey Sr. turned to filmmaking, and the films he began making in the 1960s were "strictly uninhibited things", with very small budgets and strong irony, effectively fueling the counterculture movement of the time.
He is best known for his performances in the films Unruly Nights, Magnolia and Mighty Men. Of course, he is best known as robert downey jr.'s father, who has always been loved by fans. Father and son have experienced ups and downs in Hollywood, faltering in the trough, but rising again.
Talking about the father-son fight against drugs, Downey Sr. said.
"Cocaine that has been non-stop for ten years. It wasn't until 81, when my deceased wife gave me an ultimatum, that I managed to quit. I officially rehabilitated in front of my son. He kept reminding me of it. I told him, 'If it impresses you, why can't you do the same thing?'"
His last film was the action comedy The Great Robbery, which also starred Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Alan Arda, Matthew Broderick and Cassie Affleck. As a director, his later credits include the romantic comedy "The Pool Girl" starring his sons RDJ and Sean Penn, Patrick Demsi, Alyssa Milano, and the Impressionist documentary "Heart of Philadelphia" about a small park in Philadelphia.
Robert Downey Jr. has yet to comment publicly on his father's death.