Truth & Soul: A Robert Downey, Sr. Reader, edited by Kier-La Janisse and Clint Enns (Pender Island: Spectacular Optical, 2025).
Contents
FIT FOR (A PRINCE): READING TRUTH & SOUL
Clint Enns and Kier-La Janisse
“ROCKIN’ THE BOAT’S A DRAG. YOU GOTTA SINK THE BOAT!” ROBERT DOWNEY SR. AND THE CINEMA OF ANARCHY
Wheeler Winston Dixon
STATIC ENERGY: RIBBING WARHOL AND MARKER IN CHAFED ELBOWS
Eivind Røssaak
FLATTERY IN FRIENDSHIP: THE COLLABORATIVE FILMS OF ALBERT CULLUM AND ROBERT DOWNEY SR.
Marko Djurdjic
THE SEXPLOITATION PAYCHECK: SWEET SMELL OF SEX
Samm Deighan
THE REAL, THE FAKE, AND THE “REAL” FAKE: NO MORE EXCUSES’ SATIRE ON THE SIMULACRA OF AMERICAN HISTORY, CULTURE AND HYPOCRISY
Gillian Wallace Horvat
ROBERT DOWNEY MAKES VILE MOVIES
Stephen Mahoney
REVOLUTIONARY COMEDY: THE MARX BROTHERS’ INFLUENCE ON ROBERT DOWNEY SR.
Christine Lucy Latimer
Excerpt on PUTNEY SWOPE from AMERICA BEHIND THE COLOR LINE
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
WAY OFF BROADWAY: ROBERT DOWNEY’S SOMERS STOCK
Don Swaynos
IT’S MY FAULT THAT I’M IN HERE: AFFECT THEORY, PERFORMATIVITY AND SPACE IN POUND
K.J. Relth-Miller
GOT TO HAVE SOUL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHARLEY CUVA, THE FINISHING SCHOOL AND THE PUTNEY-POUND SOUND
Andy Votel
COME THE ACID WESTERN: ROBERT DOWNEY IN THE FAR-OUT FRONTIER
Devon Deimler
NAMES WILL EVER HURT ME: HOW OZZIE & HARRIET SUCKED THE MARROW FROM STICKS AND BONES
Stephen R. Bissette
WHEN NITZSCHE MET DOWNEY: SHIPS PASSING IN THE HOLLYWOOD NIGHT
Rian Murphy
FROM PRINCE TO FOOL: AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT DOWNEY
Gerald Barrett
PUZZLE OF A DOWNFALL MUSE: ELSIE DOWNEY IN THE FORTRESS OF JIVE
Lisa Janssen
CONSTRUCTING CONTRADICTIONS: THE COLLAGE FILMS OF ROBERT DOWNEY SR.
Clint Enns
THE ABSURD WORLD OF LAWRENCE WOLF
Stephen Broomer
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU CROSS (A PRINCE) WITH THE KING OF DAYTIME TELEVISION? THE GONG SHOW MOVIE
Robert Dayton
KICKING UP A FUSS: BEHIND THE SCENES OF UP THE ACADEMY
Kliph Nesteroff
WE’RE IN THIS CHAOS TOGETHER: AMERICA AND THE RISE OF INFO-TAINMENT
Kier-La Janisse
CARNIVALESQUE FANTASIES: ROBERT DOWNEY SR.’S TIME IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE
Sian Ingham
COMPROMISING POSITIONS: DOWNEY OUT IN CALIFORNIA
Cameron Moneo
I’M TOO SUPERFICIAL TO BE HURT: COPING FROM POOL TO POOL
Jefre Siegrist
COMPLIMENTS TO THE WORLD
Stan Warnow
Truth & Soul: A Robert Downey, Sr. Reader
Edited by Kier-La Janisse and Clint Enns
Design by Luke Insect
Cover and title treatments by Andy Votel
A film visionary known for risqué humour and fearless satire, Robert Downey, Sr. is one of American cinema’s most distinctive and playful artists. From his experimental 1960s shorts to his iconoclastic 1980s comedies and beyond, Downey led a remarkable and prolific life in which he produced varied and challenging works that are still beloved by audiences today, from the clash of Madison Avenue and Black nationalism in his early classic Putney Swope to his shocking humans-as-dogs musical Pound, all the way up to later works like Hugo Pool, a surprisingly tender romantic comedy that engages with the realities of living with ALS. And while Downey is best known for his eccentric filmography, his far-ranging artistic influence extends to other important cultural spheres including the New York underground arts scene, off-Broadway theatre, music, comedy and even educational theory.
Featuring new essays by twenty-three scholars, critics, archivists, music historians and pop culture chroniclers alongside a selection of reprinted archival writings, Truth and Soul: A Robert Downey, Sr. Reader explores the cultural legacy of the many offbeat and fascinating works that he produced over his career, with a particular focus on how they intersect with race, class, consumerism, gender politics, family and debates of “highbrow”/”lowbrow” art. Each chapter provide readers with the context to understand and explore Downey’s work and to uncover the real truth and soul that brought life and laughter to his whimsical works.
Acknowledgements
This project has been about ten years in the making—a true labour of love. We are deeply grateful to the writers who entrusted us with their work; for their insight, patience, and dedication have shaped every page. The generosity with which you engaged with Downey’s films mirrors the generosity of spirit he brought to his collaborations.
We extend our thanks to the supremely talented Luke Insect for his inspired design, to Andy Votel for his eye-popping cover and title treatments (and general enthusiasm!) and to Paul Corupe for his meticulous editorial eye.
Clint extends his deepest thanks to Kat Michalski for her steadfast support throughout the making of this book. Kier-La Janisse thanks Joe Yanick for talking her off a ledge several times throughout the book’s production. Further thanks are due to Bill Ackerman, Zack Carlson, Joy Ferro, Tom Fitzgerald, Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Aaron Hillis, Karim Hussain, Ira Robbins, Kristian St. Clair, Sean Price Williams and all who supported the book’s printing through our Indiegogo campaign.
Finally, our sincerest gratitude to Rosemary Rogers for her generous blessing on this project.
