By now, most people on the planet know who Robert Downey Jr. is. But do you know who his father, Robert Downey Sr., is? RDJ’s old man was also a writer and a filmmaker, and he actually launched his son into filmmaking. In fact, they’ve even acted together in projects like Johnny be goodand 1994 Hail Caesar.
With the upcoming Netflix documentary “Sr.Based on RDJ’s upcoming arrival and his dad’s relationship, everyone is intrigued to find out more about Robert Downey Sr. Well, here are 5 facts about Big Daddy Downey you should know before watching the movie. next documentary:
His name change and his family tree
RD Sr. was born in Manhattan, New York, but grew up in Rockville Center, New York. His name was not originally “Robert Downey” as he adopted the surname “Downey” from his stepfather, Jim Downey. But his original name was Robert Elias Jr., after his father Robert Elias Sr. His mother Elizabeth had her own modeling career.
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His army days before making movies
Robert Downey Sr. joined the military when he was just 15 years old. It was the 50s, so getting into the military wasn’t as hard as he just faked his age to do it. But in his spare time, he wrote plays. He even wrote a novel that was never published. But that experience is what gave him the confidence to pursue a career in off-Broadway playwriting and screenwriting.
His sporting distinctions
Downey Sr. was a young minor league baseball player. So during his days in the military, when he and his fellow soldiers were visited by the New York Yankees, he got to play with legendary Hall of Famer Yogi Berra. He’s proud that his first 2 innings were pretty good until Yogi Berra hit a triple to show him who’s boss!
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At the age of 22, Robert Downey Sr. was a talented screenwriter and director. But he wanted to try another of his interests, which was boxing. As a professional boxer, he won quite a few victories and even became a Golden Gloves boxing champion.
How he bonded with his son
Robert Downey Jr.’s own drug addiction dates back to his father. Dad Downey was an alcoholic himself and he admitted he once passed a joint to his son when he was just 6 years old. He certainly regretted it, but later Downey’s men actually hooked up while smoking weed. “When my dad and I did drugs together, it was like he was trying to express his love for me the only way he knew how. Robert Downey Jr. revealed in his book, The new breed.
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His best controversial film
A cult film called Putney Swipe is Robert Downey Sr.’s greatest work. But, it was mired in controversy upon its release. His poster showed a middle finger and featured the slogan, “Your turn, Madison Avenue. This turned out to be quite problematic and RDS told Interview Magazine that it “I had a great time doing it. [the movie], [but got in] big problems when it was done – no one wanted it. However, RDS ended up with a long career.
Now we are going to find out more about fatherhood, filmmaking and other interesting things about Robert Downey Jr. and his father in Sr.which arrives on Netflix on November 2.
Source: RBC
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