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Robert John Downey Sr. is a retired American actor, director, producer, writer and cinematographer and the father and namesake of actor Robert Downey Jr. He is known for writing and directing the underground film Putney Swope, a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, Downey Sr.'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."
Birth Name
Robert John Elias Jr.
Born
Monday, 24 June 1935
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Sr. | Self | 2022 |
| Searching for Mr. Rugoff | Self | 2019 |
| Don't Blink | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2016 |
| Pablo | Self | 2012 |
| Radio Unnameable | Himself / Self | 2012 |
| Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. | Self - Robert's Father | 2012 |
| Welcome to the Basement | Putney Swope / Self | 2012 |
| Tower Heist | Judge Ramos | 2011 |
| Life After | Self | 2009 |
| Rittenhouse Square | Interviewer | 2005 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Sr. | Self | 2022 |
| Searching for Mr. Rugoff | Self | 2019 |
| Don't Blink | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2016 |
| Pablo | Self | 2012 |
| Radio Unnameable | Himself / Self | 2012 |
| Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. | Self - Robert's Father | 2012 |
| Welcome to the Basement | Putney Swope / Self | 2012 |
| Tower Heist | Judge Ramos | 2011 |
| Life After | Self | 2009 |
| Rittenhouse Square | Interviewer | 2005 |
| From Other Worlds | Baker | 2004 |
| The Family Man | Man in House | 2000 |
| Magnolia | WDKK Show Director | 1999 |
| Boogie Nights | Burt, Studio Manager | 1997 |
| The Sunchaser | Telephone Voices | 1996 |
| E! True Hollywood Story | Himself | 1996 |
| Hail Caesar | Butler | 1994 |
| Tales of the City | Edgar's Doctor | 1993 |
| The Last Party | Self | 1993 |
| Johnny Be Good | NCAA Investigator | 1988 |
| Moving Target | Weinberg | 1988 |
| Matlock | Judge Warren Anderson | 1986 |
| To Live and Die in L.A. | Thomas Bateman | 1985 |
| The Twilight Zone | Mr. Miller (segment "Wordplay") | 1985 |
| 1st & Ten | Mike McDonald / Reporter #4 / Reporter / Sports Writer | 1984 |
| Energy and How to Get It | 1981 | |
| Saturday Night Live | Robert Downey Sr. | 1975 |
| Is There Sex After Death? | Himself / Self | 1971 |
| You've Got to Walk It Like You Talk It or You'll Lose That Beat | Head of Ad Agency | 1971 |
| Putney Swope | Putney Swope | 1969 |
| Naughty Nurse | Desk Clerk | 1969 |
| No More Excuses | Pvt. Stewart Thompson | 1968 |
| The Dick Cavett Show | Self | 1968 |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Himself - Guest / Himself | 1962 |
| Balls Bluff | 1961 |
Director Filmography
| Title | Year |
|---|
| Rittenhouse Square | 2005 |
| Hugo Pool | 1997 |
| Too Much Sun | 1991 |
| Rented Lips | 1987 |
| America | 1986 |
| The Twilight Zone | 1985 |
| Up the Academy | 1980 |
| Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight | 1975 |
| Sticks and Bones | 1973 |
| Greaser's Palace | 1972 |
| Pound | 1970 |
| Putney Swope | 1969 |
| No More Excuses | 1968 |
| Chafed Elbows | 1966 |
| Sweet Smell of Sex | 1965 |
| Babo 73 | 1964 |
| Balls Bluff | 1961 |
Producer Filmography
| Title | Year |
|---|
| Strut! | 2001 |
| Putney Swope | 1969 |
| Chafed Elbows | 1966 |
| Babo 73 | 1964 |
| Balls Bluff | 1961 |
