Obituaries

[sbarrera]

Robert Downey Sr. (June 24, 1936 - July 7, 2021)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Downey_Sr.

American actor, director, producer, writer, cinematographer, and the father of actor Robert Downey Jr. He is known for having written and directed the underground film Putney Swope, a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. According to film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon, Downey Sr.'s films during the 1960s were "strictly take-no-prisoners affairs, with minimal budgets and outrageous satire, effectively pushing forward the countercultural agenda of the day."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/entertain...index.html



I saw Putney Swope and thought it was a very odd film; would love to watch more of his stuff. He definitely represents an underground style of film from the Awakening Era that is not done any more. Reminds me of Zappa's 300 Motels or of the animated film Fritz the Cat. Anything like that would get cancelled today for too many racial stereotypes or blatant sexism.