Talk:Robert Downey Sr.

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A news item involving Robert Downey Sr. was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the In the news section on 8 July 2021.

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Parents[edit]

Don't know what's in dispute here. The mother's name or the father's name? I think there's a typo and it should be "Robert Joseph Elias Jr." son of Robert Joseph Elias and Betty Mcloughlin. I know their names from a distant family member of Downey Sr's but I'm pretty sure it's available at any biography page. I found one here: [1]. Mother was pretty famous in the 20s, though I can't find much on her online expectedly. I did guess however that Robert Joseph Elias was completely Jewish, only because Robert Downey Jr always says his father was Jewish, so it had to come from somewhere.

IMDB isn't a reliable source, having info in it submitted by the layman (like Wikipedia), and a "distant family member" wouldn't be considered reliable either. I Googled it but couldn't find any reliable source for their names. But if one can be found, it should be restored. (The same for their ethnic desginations) Mad Jack 17:03, 31 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Filmography[edit]

In the filmography section, I believe you have missed out a movie that he was in. "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.144.181.230 (talk) 02:16, 2 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Place of birth for Robert Downey Sr is no where to be found[edit]

I find it so odd there is no mention anywhere of Robert Downey Sr's birth place ?! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.165.104.84 (talk) 17:16, 6 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Career as Director[edit]

The article omits the fact that during his career, he sometimes had employment as a 2nd Unit director. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.166.156.250 (talk) 16:01, 21 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Tower Heist acting credit source?[edit]

I'm deleting that inclusion because there's no official source or proof that he was indeed in the film.68.45.110.5 (talk) 20:11, 1 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

“Eponym” vs. “namesake”[edit]

Wouldn’t Sr. be the eponym of Jr. and not namesake? Jr. would be the namesake of Sr. Scottydude _talk 02:19, 30 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

SNL writer James Downey as half brother[edit]

I have removed the longstanding assertion that Robert Downey Sr. is the half brother of Illinois Saturday Night Live writer James Woodward Downey.

Despite some published sources stating such, this appears to be incorrect; the actual familial connection is New York writer James Buchanan Downey, who died in October 2022. This obituary maps out the familial connections, and this New York Times article on J.B. Downey describes him as an actor, copywriter and uncle of Robert Downey Jr.—by extension brother of Robert Downey Sr.—and not an SNL writer. If anyone can find a reliable source to counter these, please continue the discussion below. Rift (talk) 22:10, 17 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]