Up the Academy

Robert John Downey Sr. is an American actor, writer, and film director, and the father of actor Robert Downey Jr. He is best known as an underground filmmaker, serving as director and/or writer of such cult classics as Putney Swope, a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world.... Downey's father, Robert Elias, was the son of Russian Jewish parent, and his mother, cover girl Betty McLoughlin, was of Irish Catholic descent. He was born Robert Elias, but changed his last name to "Downey" when he was a minor and wanted to enlist in the Army. Downey Sr. has been married three times. His first marriage was to actress Elsie Downey , with whom he had two children: actress/writer Allyson Downey and actor Robert Downey Jr. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975. Downey Sr.'s second marriage, to actress-writer Laura Ernst, ended with her 1994 death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. He currently lives in New York City with his third wife, Rosemary Rogers, whom he married in 1998.
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