Photo: Wdixon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on June 24, 1936 in Manhattan, New York, United States, Robert Downey Sr. was a film director, screenwriter and television actor. Robert Downey Sr. died on July 7, 2021 at the age of 85. Awards on record include Guggenheim Fellowship.
My Take
Robert Downey Sr. is too often filed away as merely the father of a famous son, which does him a disservice. The Manhattan-born filmmaker behind Putney Swope and Greaser's Palace was a genuine American maverick, skewering advertising and the Western with a surrealist nerve few studios would touch. A Guggenheim Fellowship confirms he was no mere provocateur. What I admire most is the lineage: the same refusal to color inside the lines clearly passed to his son. He died in 2021, but that underground, anything-goes spirit feels like the more interesting inheritance he left behind.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Robert Downey Sr.
- Name (Japanese)
- ロバート・ダウニー・シニア
- Reading
- ろばーと・だうにー・しにあ
- Born
- June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Rat
- Origin
- Manhattan, New York, United States
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / television actor / film actor / film editor
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- Guggenheim Fellowship
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Robert Downey Sr. born?
Born June 24, 1936.
When did Robert Downey Sr. die?
Died July 7, 2021, aged 85.
Where was Robert Downey Sr. from?
Robert Downey Sr. was from Manhattan, New York, United States.
What did Robert Downey Sr. do?
Robert Downey Sr. worked as film director, screenwriter, television actor, film actor, film editor.
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