Robert Downey Jr. Sings on 'Ally' Album
Nov. 5 -- Seeking to make one of Hollywood’s most drastic comebacks, formerly imprisoned actor Robert Downey Jr. is determined to make his star shine brighter than it did during his 1980s climb to fame.
The brown-eyed thesp was released from jail in August, and immediately accepted an offer to play a recurring role as Calista Flockhart’s love interest on Fox’s Ally McBeal. Now Downey is singing the blues — figuratively speaking — on an Ally-spawned holiday album, A Very Ally Christmas, due in stores Tuesday.
Praises From Vonda Shepard
According to Variety, the actor covers Joni Mitchell’s sad-eyed anthem “River,” and duets with Ally songbird Vonda Shepard on “White Christmas.” We’re hoping the former cocaine abuser sings the latter with at least a teensy-weensy hint of irony, if ya get our (snow-free) drift.
“He’s such a good actor and it translates musically as well,” Shepard recently told Reuters. “I think his passion and his pain and his longing come out through his voice.”
Downey was released from prison Aug. 2 after serving one year of a three-year sentence for drug possession. A week later, Ally creator David E. Kelley announced he had hired Downey for an open-ended stint on the show. Downey is currently filming his 10th episode as bloodless lawyer Larry Paul. He’ll have some competition this month, though, when gossip fave Anne Heche and The Brady Bunch’s Florence Henderson join the firm for a few episodes.
The multi-talented Downey is also headed into theater, where he’ll star as the troubled prince in a January stage run of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Los Angeles. Downey buddy Mel Gibson has committed to direct the star’s first Shakespearean performance.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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