'Iron Man' star Robert Downey Jr. mourns the passing of director dad
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The 'Putney Swope' director was suffering for years from Parkinson's disease.
Filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr. has passed away at the age of 85.
His son, Robert Downey Jr., paid tribute to his father by posting a touching note on Instagram.
“Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson's,” the actor wrote.
“He was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout.”
Downey Sr. enlisted in the army at the age of 15. He also played minor league baseball for a time.
But it was in entertainment where he would find his calling. He wrote and directed Putney Swope, the 1969 satire flick that is now a cult classic.
Downey Sr. also directed the films Up the Academy (1980), Rented Lips (1988), Hugo Pool (1997), and Rittenhouse Square (2005), among many others.
Downey Jr. had a close but bizarre relationship with his father. Their bonding moments was out of the ordinary and most likely contributed to the Iron Man star's years of struggle with addiction.
He said in a 1988 interview with People that his father introduced him to drugs and alcohol when he was young.
“There was always a lot of pot and coke around ... When my dad and I would do drugs together, it was like him trying to express his love for me in the only way he knew how,” revealed Downey Jr.
Downey Sr., meanwhile, told The Guardian that introducing his son to drugs was a grave mistake.
“I passed him a joint. And suddenly I knew I had made a terrible, stupid mistake ... giving a little kid a toke of grass just to be funny,” he said regretfully.
Locally, several Filipino celebrities and personalities have passed away this year. Check out the list below:
