Downey Jr. was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance.

Spader's first major film role was in 1981 as Brooke Shields ' brother in Endless Love, and his first starring role was in Tuff Turf alongside good friend Robert Downey, Jr.

Morton Downey, Jr. ( December 9, 1932 – March 12, 2001 ) was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the " trash TV " format on his program The Morton Downey Jr. Show.

In the 1980s, Downey was a talk show host at KFBK-AM in Sacramento, California, where he employed his abrasive style.

Downey headed to Secaucus, New Jersey, where his highly controversial television program The Morton Downey Jr. Show was taped.

During one controversial episode Downey introduced his gay brother, Tony Downey, to his studio audience and informed them Tony was HIV positive.

During the episode Downey stated he was afraid his audience would abandon him if they knew he had a gay brother, but then said he did not care.

Some inconsistencies in Downey's account ( e. g., the swastika was painted in reverse, suggesting that Downey had drawn it himself in a mirror ), and the failure of the police to find supportive evidence, led many to suspect that the incident was a hoax and a plea for attention.

In 1990, Downey resurfaced on CNBC with an interview program called Showdown, which was followed by three attempted talk radio comebacks: first in 1992 on Washington, D. C. radio station WWRC ; then in 1993 on Dallas radio station KGBS, where he would scream insults at his callers.

The following year he returned to CNBC with a short-lived television show, Downey, that was similar in theme to his earlier, more popular show.

Downey refused to apologize and was forced to resign, with Rush Limbaugh taking his place.

Downey was sued for allegedly appropriating the words and music to his theme song from two songwriters.

Morton Downey, Jr .' s parents were also in show business ; his father, Morton Downey, was a popular singer, and his mother, Barbara Bennett, was a singer and dancer.

According to Terry Pluto's book, Loose Balls, Downey was one of the owners of the New Orleans Buccaneers basketball team in the American Basketball Association in the late 1960s.

Downey was also president and co-founder of the proposed World Baseball Association in 1974.

In 1996, Downey was diagnosed with lung cancer and had one of his lungs removed.

He married actress / singer Deborah Falconer on May 29, 1992, after a 42-day courtship, and had a son with her, Indio Falconer Downey, born on September 7, 1993 in Los Angeles County, California.

Joan Martin always referred to Alfred, her second husband ( she had been married before to a native Italian named Donato Pisani, whom her family arranged her to marry, and later married a singer named Jack Downey and took his name ; the marriage lasted until Jack's death many years later ), as the " jackass " because he abandoned the family.

Ronald Reagan's maternal great-great grand-parents, Claude Wilson and Margaret Downey were married at Paisley

Denise and Pete Downey ( Ethan Phillips ), the Governor's Press Secretary ( introduced in Season 2 ), met and later married while working in the governor's mansion and were expectant parents for most of the third-to-last season.

Downey has been married three times.

Doreen's daughter, Honey ( Lili Taylor ), is married to Bill Bush ( Robert Downey, Jr .), a man aroused by sadism.

Some time after returning to the U. S., Downey married Rosa V. Kelly, of Los Angeles.

Ginny Tillman, the ex-wife of a Beverly Hills proctologist ; Francesca McDowell, a 14-year-old New York City girl being raised by her father Dave ( portrayed by Castellaneta ) and his partner William ( McMurray ); Tina, a Brooklyn postal employee who is best friends with her co-worker Meg ( Kavner ); Sarah Downey, a quintessential yuppie married to attorney Greg ( Castellaneta ); Kay Clark, an English office worker and caregiver to her sick mother ( Kay also appeared frequently in Tracey Takes On ); Sandra Decker, an aged Hollywood movie actress ; Kiki Howard-Smith, an Australian professional golfer ; Summer Storm, a Los Angeles disc jockey ; and Angel Tish, a singer who appeared with her husband Marty ( Castellaneta ).

Edwards and Dr. Katherine " Kate " Downey were married January 3, 2009.

Hartman was married to Maureen Downey from 1974 until her death on September 17, 1997.

" Sarducci has appeared in four cold openings in the 1979 – 1980 season ( on episodes hosted by Steve Martin, Teri Garr, Elliott Gould, and Rodney Dangerfield ), two commercial parodies (" MX-5 Tampons " on the 1981 – 1982 Christmas episode hosted by Bill Murray and " Bocce Ball My Way " on the last episode of the 1985 – 1986 season hosted by Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin ), and two monologues on the 1985 – 1986 season ( the first hosted by Madonna in a pretaped sketch showing Madonna's wedding to Sean Penn ( played by Robert Downey, Jr .) and the second on the Christmas episode of the 1985 – 1986 season hosted by Garr as Sarducci's alter ego, Pope Maurice ).

The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17 — Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans — at least four of whom were sexually assaulted.

After that fight, he won six bouts in a row by knockout ( as Jack Dempsey ), before losing for the first time, on a disqualification in four rounds to Jack Downey.

Morton Downey was the father of the right-wing television personality Morton Downey, Jr., by his first wife, actress Barbara Bennett ( 1906 – 1958 ), the sister of actresses Constance and Joan Bennett, and with whom he ultimately had five children, four sons and a daughter: Michael, Sean ( Morton Downey, Jr ), Lorelle, Anthony and Kevin.

Thin Lizzy bassist / vocalist Phil Lynott and drummer Brian Downey appear on four songs, including UK top 10 single " Parisienne Walkways ".

In more recent times, it was replicated by Robert Downey Jr. in his lead role as Charles Chaplin in the 1992 Chaplin, Johnny Depp's character in the 1993 film Benny and Joon, Grampa Simpson in the 1994 episode of The Simpsons entitled " Lady Bouvier's Lover " and by Amy Adams ' character in The Muppets.

From 1996 through 2001, Downey was arrested numerous times on drug-related charges including cocaine, heroin and marijuana and went several times through drug treatment programs unsuccessfully, explaining in 1999 to a judge: " It's like I've got a shotgun in my mouth with my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gun metal.

Parker remembered Haim's staying over many times with her and her then boyfriend Downey Jr., who taught him how to apply hair mousse, saying: " He was naturally gifted and a real charmer – I adored him.

Downey actually appeared on Hot Seat on one occasion ; he and George traded barbs numerous times over items ranging from who was a true conservative to the nature of the audience before Downey was tackled by " police ".

Downey stated on the December 16, 2009 Late Show with David Letterman that Maillet was " 10 times more upset about it " than Downey was.

Legally named Sean Morton Downey, Jr., he dropped " Sean " from his stage name, as his father, Morton Downey had.

Downey also had a stint on WMAQ-AM in Chicago where he unsuccessfully tried to get other on air radio personalities to submit to drug testing.

In one episode, Downey claimed to have had a psychic communication with O. J.

It marked his return to the Cleveland market, where Downey had been a host for crosstown radio station WERE ( 1300 AM ) in the early 1980s prior to joining KFBK.

Downey had accused Stern of spreading rumors that he resumed his smoking habits, to which publicist Les Schecter retorted, " He hasn't picked up a cigarette.

In 2008, the film Tropic Thunder had Robert Downey Jr. in an Oscar nominated performance where he plays an Caucasian Australian actor who is so committed to method acting an African American character that he has his skin surgically darkened, much to the annoyed bemusement of his actual African American co-players in the cast.

By 1888, Downey had built an 18 ' X 27 ' log house one story high with shake roof.

If Hamilton and Smith had remained in parliament, the Downey said he might have recommended long periods of suspension for both.

After the tour, and with the contract with Decca coming to an end, a disillusioned Downey quit the band and had to be begged to return.

He had collaborated with Lynott and Downey on his 1978 album Back on the Streets and the hit single " Parisienne Walkways " before leaving Thin Lizzy, and in 1985 he and Lynott teamed up again on the UK no.

Before his death, Lynott was planning a third solo album, and had spoken to Downey about a possible reformation of Thin Lizzy around March 1986, with Gorham and Sykes, and had booked studio time for January of that year.

Another version of Thin Lizzy was formed later that year by John Sykes ( now also performing lead vocals ) with Downey, Gorham and Wharton, and with bass parts played by Marco Mendoza, who had played with Sykes in Blue Murder from 1991 – 93.

During his childhood Downey had minor roles in his father's projects.

In 1985, Downey had his breakthrough when he played James Spader's sidekick in Tuff Turf and then a bully in John Hughes ' Weird Science.

After spending nearly a year in California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, California, Downey, on condition of posting $ 5, 000 bail, was unexpectedly freed when a judge ruled that his collective time in incarceration facilities ( spawned from the initial 1996 arrests ) had qualified him for early release.

After this last arrest, producer David E. Kelley and other Ally McBeal executives ordered last-minute rewrites and reshoots and dismissed Downey from the show, despite the fact that Downey's character had resuscitated Ally McBeals ratings.

And I had always wanted to work with Bob Downey and always thought he was a huge talent.

In a December 18, 2000 article for People Magazine entitled " Bad to Worse ", Downey's stepmother Rosemary told author Alex Tresnlowski that Downey had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder " a few years ago " and added that his bipolar disorder was " the reason he has a hard time staying sober.

When Downey denied he had ever said he was bipolar, the caller quoted the People article, to which Downey replied, "' No!