Entertainment

Robert Downey Sr., Father Of Robert Downey Jr., Dead At 85

(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Katie Jerkovich Entertainment Reporter
Font Size:

Legendary filmmaker Robert Downey Sr., father of actor Robert Downey Jr. has died following his battle with Parkinson’s. He was 85.

The actor and filmmaker’s wife, best-selling author Rosemary Rogers, said she was at home with her husband when he passed away in his sleep at his New York City home on Wednesday, the New York Daily News reported. (RELATED: ‘Wicked Tuna’ Star Dead At 36. Here’s What We Know)

The star, who recently appeared in such hit movies as “Boogie Nights,” and “To Live and Die in LA,” recently celebrated his 85th birthday. (RELATED: Hollywood Reacts To Death Of Legendary Actress Doris Day)

The outlet noted Downey Sr. had been battling Parkinson’s disease for more than five years before his death.

The writer and director is best known for making such classic movies as “Putney Swope” in 1969 and “Greaser’s Palace” in 1972.

The “Iron Man” star actually appeared in “Greaser’s Palace” as a child along with his sister Allyson and Downey Sr.’s first wife, Elsie Downey.

Downey Sr. and Elsie tied the knot in 1962 and divorced in 1982. He married his second wife, Laura Ernst, in 1991 and was with her until her death three years later. Rogers and Robert Sr. later married in 1998.

His final directorial project was a 2005 documentary titled “Rittenhouse Square.”

The Marvel star has since shared a touching post on Instagram about his father in a tribute to his life.

“Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s ..,” Downey Jr. wrote. “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,” he added. “Rosemary Rogers-Downey, you are a saint, and our thoughts and prayers are with you.”

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel