Robert Downey Jr. and his father, Robert Downey Sr., arrive at Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World Gala in New York in 2008. Downey Sr., the accomplished countercultural filmmaker, actor and father of superstar Robert Downey Jr., has died. He was 85. Associated Press/Evan Agostini
NEW YORK — Robert Downey Sr., iconic filmmaker of breakthrough anti-establishment classic films such as “Putney Swope” and “Greaser’s Palace,” died early Wednesday morning in his sleep at his home in New York City, his wife told the Daily News.
Downey, who turned 85 last month and had been battling Parkinson’s disease, also appeared in the movies “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “To Live And Die in L.A.”
The filmmaker, actor, producer and writer was a life-long New Yorker and the husband of bestselling author Rosemary Rogers and father of actor Robert Downey Jr.
A heartbroken Robert Downey Jr. told The News, ” I will miss him forever.”
Rogers was at home with Downey Sr. when he died. He succumbed after suffering from Parkinson’s for more five years.
“Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s,” Downey Jr. wrote Wednesday in an Instagram tribute. “He was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout.
“According to my stepmoms calculations, they were happily married for just over 2000 years,” the “Iron Man” actor continued. “Rosemary Rogers-Downey, you are a saint, and our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
Downey’s ashes will scattered by the family at Rockaway Beach near Gildea’s pub where – he liked to say – he misspent his youth.
Downey Sr. achieved early success during a career that spanned more than five decades as a writer and director of independent films that offered commentary on the era and contributed to the counterculture movement.
After garnering attention for works such as 1961′s “Balls Bluff” and 1964′s “Babo 73,” Downey’s profile ascended with the 1969 release of “Putney Swope,” a satirical take on the advertising industry of New York City.
“Putney Swope” proved to be a revelation with enduring impact, as the Library of Congress chose the movie for its National Film Registry in 2016.
Three years later, Downey came out with “Greaser’s Palace,” a Western about a man capable of creating miracles such as bringing back the dead or helping sick people recover.
Downey Jr. appeared in 1972′s “Greaser’s Palace” as a child, as did Downey Sr.’s other child, daughter Allyson, and his first wife, Elsie Downey.
He married Elsie in 1962 and had his only two children with her before their divorce in 1982. Downey married his second wife, Laura Ernst, in 1991, and remained with her until her death three years later.
Downey and Rogers married in 1998.
Rogers told the Daily News, “Bob was a New Yorker through and through from Greenwich Village to Queens to Chelsea to Waterside Plaza, where he spent the last 23 years of his life.”
A life-long sports fan, when Downey was a teenage soldier in the army, he pitched against New York Yankee Yogi Berra, and later pitched in the Broadway Show League. He was also a New York Daily News Golden Gloves finalist, she said.
Downey continued to work into his later years, writing and directing the 1997 romantic comedy “Hugo Pool,” which starred Alyssa Milano and Patrick Dempsey, as well as his son.
His final directorial work came in 2005 with the documentary “Rittenhouse Square.”
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