He was known for writing and directing the underground film Putney Swope (1969), a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world.

[3] He was the son of Elizabeth "Betty" McLauchlen, a model and magazine editor, and Robert John Elias Sr., who worked in management of motels and restaurants.

[10] Downey initially made his mark creating very low-budget independent films aligning with the absurdist movement, in line with counterculture, anti-establishment, 1960s America.

In keeping with the underground tradition, his 1970s films were independently made on shoestring budgets and were relatively obscure in the Absurdist movement, finding cult notoriety.

Robert Jr.'s lengthy acting résumé includes appearances in eight films directed by his father (Pound, Greaser's Palace, Moment to Moment, Up the Academy, America, Rented Lips, Too Much Sun, Hugo Pool), as well as two acting appearances in movies where his father was also an actor (Johnny Be Good, Hail Caesar).

[15][16][17] Unmade projects include a script written in the 1980s for Hal Ashby to direct, variously referred to under the titles Victor Hiatus and Almost Together,[18] and a film set to be executive produced by Paul Thomas Anderson in the 2000s, Forest Hills Bob.