Robert Jr Downey

Just a week after being released from Corcoran State Prison, Robert Downey Jr. has cut a deal that will find him standing next to a lawyer again--only this time, one of the fictional variety, as the actor takes a significant part on the Fox series "Ally McBeal."

The future of Robert Downey Jr.'s recurring role on Fox's "Ally McBeal" remained uncertain Monday after the actor's Saturday arrest in Palm Springs on charges of cocaine and methamphetamine possession. Downey, who was released on $15,000 bail Sunday, was expected to appear in the episode that is currently in production, but executives with the show said they did not know what days this week he was scheduled to film.

Robert Downey Jr.'s role in the upcoming "America's Sweethearts" is going to be recast, according to a source at Revolution Studios, which is producing the film. Revolution Studios chief Joe Roth, who will direct "America's Sweethearts," decided not to use Downey in the romantic comedy that stars Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The film is scheduled to start shooting Jan. 11; Downey was set to play Zeta-Jones' lover.

Actor Robert Downey Jr. became the first high-profile beneficiary of Proposition 36 on Monday, avoiding prison by pleading no contest to drug charges stemming from his November arrest at a Palm Springs resort. Had he entered his plea just a month ago, Downey almost certainly would have landed behind bars, prosecutors said. Instead, he will be sent back to rehabilitation under a ballot measure approved by voters last fall that mandates treatment, not prison, for many drug offenders.

County prosecutors said Monday they will not file misdemeanor narcotics charges against actor Robert Downey Jr. stemming from his arrest last month in Culver City. Instead, the district attorney's office will let state corrections officials deal with Downey for violating conditions of his parole, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. Downey, 36, is on parole from a 1996 drug conviction and has served about a year in prison after violating conditions of probation.

Actor Robert Downey Jr., who caused a stir when he was escorted from jail to work on a movie, was released Tuesday to complete his 180-day sentence at a drug rehabilitation center. Downey left the downtown Men's Central Jail shortly after 5:30 p.m., said Sheriff's Deputy Angie Prewitt. Officials said Downey has completed 113 days of his sentence. He will spend the next 67 days at the treatment center.

This has been a busy time, even by Hollywood standards, for celebrities in trouble with the law. Actor Robert Downey Jr. lost his job on "Ally McBeal" after being arrested again recently on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, yet another probation no-no. There's a lot of hand-wringing and head-shaking going on, to be sure. In general, though, people in Hollywood get very quiet when one of their own becomes involved in a high-profile jam.

When a pale Robert Downey Jr. was led away to serve his 180-day jail sentence for a probation violation in December, he could have expected a winter in a huge, decrepit county jail system where the closest exposure to outdoors can mean a roofed-in concrete courtyard. And for the most part, that has been his life. He has suffered through jail food, a knuckled blow to the forehead from another inmate, and the general humiliation of being deprived of freedom.

Robert Downey Jr. didn't waste time making light of his arrests last summer stemming from his problems with cocaine and heroin as he bounded on stage Saturday to host NBC's "Saturday Night Live." "I did have a really interesting summer," said Downey with a sly smile during his opening monologue. The actor then proceeded to show "slides of his summer vacation," where he appeared in orange prison jumpsuits in several shots. The show marked Downey's first public performance since his arrest.

Delivering a stern message to a celebrity who has grappled repeatedly with substance abuse, a Malibu judge Monday ordered actor Robert Downey Jr. to serve six months in jail for violating terms of his probation for a 1996 drug conviction. Malibu Municipal Judge Lawrence Mira told Downey, 32, that the jail term he was imposing was intended "to let you know that when you make the choice for drugs, you're going to jail--it's that simple.