Robert Downey Jr’s father dies at 85
Robert Downey Sr was a leading filmmaker in independent US cinema in the 1950s and 60s
Popular actor Robert Downey Jr's father and filmmaker, Robert Downey Sr, passed away at the age of 85.
The "Putney Swope" director was suffering from Parkinson's disease and passed away in his sleep on Tuesday night, reports BBC.
The actor revealed the news about his father's demise through an Instagram post.
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"Dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson's," the Iron Man star wrote.
"He was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout."
Downey Sr was a leading figure in independent US cinema in the 1950s and 60s, best known for writing and directing the 1969 satire Putney Swope.
He also appeared in such movies as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and To Live and Die in LA.
The movies he created had small budgets, a counter-cultural ethos, and cutting humour. Putney Swope was a satire on the advertising world of Madison Avenue, while his other directing credits included 1961's Balls Bluff, 1964's Babo 73, and 1972's Greaser's Palace.
