Robert Downey, Jr. mourning mother's death
Hollywood actor Robert Downey, Jr. is in mourning following the death of his mother.
The Iron Man star's actress mom Elsie passed away on Monday (22Sep14) at the age of 80, and the Oscar nominee shared the sad news in a post on his Facebook.com page on Friday (26Sep14).
Downey, Jr. posted a detailed letter about her life, revealing she
battled alcoholism in the 1970s but eventually got sober and later
inspired her son to kick his own addictions. She also suffered from
heart disease and endured a number of health problems this year
(14).
He writes, "My mom passed away early this week... I wanna say
something about her life, and a generic 'obit' won't suffice...
While I strived to have the kind of success that eluded her, my own
addiction repeatedly forbade it. In the summer of 2004, I was in
bad shape. She called me out of the blue, and I admitted
everything. I don't remember what she said, but I haven't drank or
used (drugs) since...
"Many fond memories of her in the last few years...holidays,
kid-stuff, her strutting around with a walking stick. I knew it was
difficult, and understood as the visits got shorter. In March, she
suffered another cardiac arrest and was put on life support. Her
wishes were to be left to die if there wasn't a reasonable chance
of recovery, which for some time there was. I returned from filming
the Avengers sequel in June, went straight to see her. To my
amazement, she was completely lucid, interactive, mugging + pulling
faces. We couldn't speak 'cause she had a tracheal tube.
"I wondered if she might just beat the odds once more. Another set
of seizures answered that, and we brought her home for hospice. She
died @ 11 p.m., September 22nd, survived by her extremely loving
and tolerant partner of 37 years, Jonas Kerr. She was my role model
as an actor, and as a woman who got sober and stayed that way. She
was also reclusive, self-deprecating, a stoic Scotch-German rural
Pennsylvanian, a ball buster, stubborn, and happy to hold a
grudge... That's all her...and I wouldn't have it any other way. If
anyone out there has a mother, and she's not perfect, please call
her and say you love her anyway..."
Elsie starred in many of her husband Robert Downey, Sr.'s movies
before retiring from acting. The couple divorced in 1975.