River Phoenix

River Jude Phoenix, born August 23, 1970, was an American actor and musician. He is well remembered for being an activist - a devoted animal rights, environmental and political activist. River hated the fact that the media seemed more interested in who he was dating rather than environmental issues.
River Phoenix was born in Metolius, Oregon, to parents Arlyn Sharon Dunetz and John Lee Bottom. Soon after travelling across the US, they joined a religious cult named "The Children of God". River was named after the "River of Life" from the novel "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse, and Jude was chosen to be his middle name from the Beatles song, "Hey Jude".
River is the oldest of his family, and has a few brothers and sisters - Jodene (who later changed her name to Trust), Rain, Joaquin, Liberty and Summer.
In an interview with People Magazine, he described his parents as being "hippieish".
Phoenix's mother often encouraged her children to get into films, and River also had great talent for music. Often, he and his sister Rain, would sing, River playing guitar, on street corners, acquiring money that was used mainly towards the income of the family. He and his sister Rain would later form a band called Aleka's Attic.
During this time, the family was situated in South America. Near to the end of their stay there, the entire family converted to become vegans. This was largely encouraged and supported by River and his younger brother, Joaquin, due to the fact that they saw the methods used to killing fish.
Soon after this, the family moved back to the US, to stay with Phoenix's grandparents. Not long after, the family had the daughter, Summer. This was when River's parents changed their last names to Phoenix, symbolising a new start, and named after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes.
River, at his young age, acted as many different characters, and he loved this. He once said: "I really like acting because you can create a character. You can make someone who has never existed before. That's neat."
He had a number of roles, some starring, which include; his first film, Explorers (1985), The Mosquito Coast where he played the lead character Charlie Fox (1986), Stand By Me (1986), My Own Private Idaho starring alongside Keanu Reeves which could have easily been his most famous and best work (1991), and Dogfight (1991). His last film was un-released due to his unexpected death before many of the crucial scenes were filmed.
River Phoenix's death was something that gained a lot of attention in 1993. He was aged 23 at the time.
Phoenix, on the evening of October 30, 1993, was set to perform on stage at Johnny Depp's club, The Viper Room. River had gone into the bathroom with various friends, reportedly taking a range of drugs - including Persian Brown (a strong form of heroin mixed with methamphetamine). His autopsy showed that he had incredibly high doses of cocaine, morphine, diazepam, ephedrine and marijuana in his system.
Soon after his drug intake, River began to feel very unwell, and stumbled outside of the club, before collapsing on the pavement. Joaquin and his sister Rain were with him at the time, and as Joaquin was calling the ambulance, Rain was giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which unfortunately had no effect. River preceded to go into a series of fits for 5 minutes, until the ambulance came and transferred him to the nearest hospital. River was pronounced dead at 1.51am, on the morning of October 31, 1993.
River Phoenix had once tragically stated: "I don't want to die in a car accident. When I die it'll be a glorious day. It'll probably be a waterfall."
Johnny Depp closed the club that night, and since then has continued to close his club every year on October 31st, until he sold his share in 2004.
"With much respect and love to River and his family, The Viper Room is temporarily closed. Our heartfelt condolences to all his family, friends and loved ones. He will be missed."



News | What members say | Filmography

River Phoenix - news / articles

River Phoenix - what members say

River Phoenix - filmography

5 most recent films

Silent Tongue - 2.0 stars
The Thing Called Love - 3.0 stars
Sneakers - 3.5 stars
Dogfight - 4.0 stars
My Own Private Idaho - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Stand By Me - Blu-ray - 4.0 stars
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade - 4.0 stars
Stand By Me - 4.0 stars
Dogfight - 4.0 stars
Running On Empty - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Silent Tongue - 2.0 stars
A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon - 2.5 stars
Little Nikita - 3.0 stars
My Own Private Idaho - 3.0 stars
The Thing Called Love - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Casey Siemaszko - 3 times - show films
Marshall Bell - 3 times - show films
Jason Oliver - 3 times - show films
Kiefer Sutherland - 3 times - show films
Bradley Gregg - 3 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Rob Reiner - 3 times - show films
Sam Shepard - 2 times - show films
Steven Spielberg - 1 times - show films
Richard Benjamin - 1 times - show films
Sidney Lumet - 1 times - show films