Robert Downey Jr. is paying tribute to his father, director Robert Downey Sr., who died Wednesday in New York at age 85.
The "Iron Man" star posted a photo of his dad Wednesday on Instagram, calling him a "maverick filmmaker" in his heartfelt caption.
"RIP Bob D. Sr. 1936-2021... Last night, dad passed peacefully in his sleep after years of enduring the ravages of Parkinson’s... he was a true maverick filmmaker, and remained remarkably optimistic throughout," Downey Jr. wrote.
He added, "According to my stepmoms calculations, they were happily married for just over 2000 years. Rosemary Rogers-Downey, you are a saint, and our thoughts and prayers are with you."
Robert Downey Sr. was best known for writing and directing the 1969 comedy “Putney Swope," which told the story of a Black activist who's accidentally put in charge at a Madison Avenue advertising agency.
The controversial movie, which skewered everything from the white-run corporate world to the depiction of race in Hollywood, was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2016.
Downey Sr. directed many other films over the years, including 1961's "Balls Bluff," 1964's "Babo 73," 1968's "No More Excuses," 1970's "Pound" and 1972's "Greaser's Palace." He also acted in a handful of movies directed by others, including 1997's “Boogie Nights," 1999's “Magnolia” and 2000's “The Family Man."
The New York City-born filmmaker cast his future Hollywood star son in several of his movies, including the comedy "Pound," which found Downey Jr. and his sister, Allyson Downey, making their screen debuts as children.
Father and son also acted in two Hollywood movies together: the 1988 comedy "Johnny Be Good" and the 1994 comedy "Hail Caesar."
Downey Sr. shared his son and daughter with his first wife, Elsie Ann Ford, to whom he was married from 1962 until 1982. He was also married to Laura Ernst from 1991 until Ernst's death in 1994. He married his third wife, author Rosemary Rogers, in 1998.