River Phoenix

Biography

Early life

His father, John Lee Bottom, came from a Catholic California family, while his mother, Arlyn Sharon Dunetz, was born in the Bronx to Margaret and Meyer Dunetz, Orthodox Jewish emigrants from Hungary and Russia. The two joined the Children of God cult in the late 1960s and became missionaries, traveling throughout South America. Returning to the United States in 1977, they adopted the surname "Phoenix" in April 1979. River Phoenix was born River Jude Bottom in Metolius, Oregon, five miles south of Madras, Oregon. Both he and his mother have said that he was named after the River of Life in Herman Hesse's novel Siddhartha, and that his middle name comes from the Beatles song "Hey Jude". He grew up in poverty, although contrary to popular belief, he was not born in a log cabin. He and his sister often had to work as street performers to make money for the family.

He and his family, to whom River remained very close, were all vegans. He believed that eating animals was wrong, though it was his younger brother, Joaqui­n, who, at the age of four, persuaded the family not to eat meat any longer. The family were on a ship from Venezuela to Florida at the time, and Joaquin had seen fishermen killing fish by banging their heads against the bulkheads. The family eventually became vegans. River's opinions on the issue were so strong that when his actress girlfriend, Martha Plimpton, ordered soft-shell crab at a restaurant, he reportedly began weeping out of disappointment. When he played the role of Gideon in the TV version of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1982, his mother insisted on him using a rope for a belt; he steadfastly refused to wear leather. He was engaged to Samantha Mathis(July 1993)

Career

Phoenix was one of five siblings who pursued careers in show business, encouraged by their parents. He had significant juvenile roles in Rob Reiner's coming of age picture Stand By Me; Peter Weir's The Mosquito Coast where Phoenix played the son of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren; A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (this film deviated considerably from the original director's cut, which is now available under the title Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye?); and Little Nikita with Sidney Poitier; and was nominated in 1988, at the age of 17, for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (as well as for a Golden Globe) for his role in Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty, considered by critics to be River Phoenix's finest film. He also portrayed the teenage Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. River met actor Keanu Reeves while Reeves was filming on River's brother's movie set and later went on to star opposite Reeves in Gus Van Sant's hauntingly avant-garde My Own Private Idaho for which Phoenix won Best Actor honors at the Venice Film Festival, as well as from the National Society of Film Critics. His friendship with both Reeves and Van Sant continued beyond the movie. At the press screening of My Own Private Idaho at the New York Film Festival, River accurately predicted that a large number of gay-themed films were "on the horizon."

After losing-out on the Brad Pitt role in Robert Redford's film A River Runs Through It, Phoenix teamed with Redford on-screen and, once again, with Sidney Poitier for the heist thriller Sneakers. River would also appear in Peter Bogdanovich's country music themed film, The Thing Called Love; it would be his final completed picture, Co-star Samantha Mathis would become phoenix's girlfriend and would be present on the night of his death.

River Phoenix appeared on Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante's second solo album Smile From the Streets You Hold on the song "Height Down." Phoenix also had his own band called Aleka's Attic, which included his sister Rain, Sasa Raphael, and, on occasion, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Phoenix was also close friends with Michael Stipe of the band R.E.M..

He was reportedly embarrassed by advertisements promoting him as a teeny-bop sex symbol and usually refused to smile for photographs.

Phoenix strongly endorsed a healthy lifestyle that included Veganism and Holistic medicine, but it would become obvious that this did not always extend to abstaining from addictive or dangerous drugs.

Death

Phoenix died at age 23 from an accidental drug overdose of heroin and cocaine (speedball) outside the Viper Room, a Hollywood night club partly owned by actor Johnny Depp. An autopsy also revealed traces of cough syrup and cannabis in his blood. On the night of Phoenix's death, he was in the bathroom doing drugs with various friends and drug dealers. It is reported that someone offered him some Persian Brown (a powerful form of methamphetamine mixed with opiates, which is then snorted) and soon after consuming the drug Phoenix became ill, then, when he started to panic was offered a valium to help calm him down. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael Balzary, also known as Flea, was present at the time, as was Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante . Johnny Depp and his good friend Flea were on stage playing music when they noticed Phoenix staggering out of the night club. Both Depp and Flea jumped off of the stage and followed Phoenix outside. Soon after leaving The Viper Room, River collapsed on the sidewalk and started going into seizures for a couple of minutes. His only brother, Joaquin Phoenix, was present at the scene and dialed 911, unable to determine whether he was breathing or not. River had in fact already stopped breathing and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. He was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 1:51 AM PDT on the morning of October 31, 1993.

At the time of his death, Phoenix was filming the movie Dark Blood, which, although 90% completed, was never released, as Phoenix's death made it impossible for the filmmakers to film the several key scenes which were yet to be shot. He was also due to start filming on Interview With the Vampire as the interviewer, Daniel Molloy. Christian Slater eventually took on the role, donating his salary for the film to charity in honor of Phoenix. Phoenix was cremated in Gainesville, Florida 3 days later, and the ashes were spread at the family's ranch near Micanopy, a few miles south of Gainesville.

Phoenix has four siblings, one brother and three sisters. Joaquin Phoenix has since become a successful actor in his own right. His sisters Rain and Summer are actresses as well; Rain also performs as the lead singer in a band called The Papercranes. River's second youngest sister Liberty quit acting when she was still a child.

Viewed almost universally as a phenomenally talented, clever and touchingly sweet-natured presence in the lives of his numerous friends, co-workers and family-members, one of River's on-set tutors has said, "no legend or fiction could ever live up to the reality of River Phoenix".

Prone to spells of depression as well as compulsive tendencies, River hinted in interviews at having been abused by the members of the oft-investigated cult to which he had belonged as a small child. Although the details of the alleged mistreatment remain unclear, it has been proposed that the experience played at least a partial role in his descent into substance abuse towards the end of his life (statistically, a common problem among those who have undergone certain forms of childhood trauma or abuse).

River Phoenix's image prior to his death -one he bemoaned in interviews- had been squeaky-clean, due in part to the public discussion of his various social, political, humanitarian and dietary interests not always popular in the '80s. As a result, his death was considered one of show-business's most shocking and tragic, and was seized upon by the media. Friends and family became silent for many years on the subject of their fallen loved-one, and mostly remain silent even to this day.

In his 2004 interview book Who The Hell's In It, Peter Bogdanovich, one of the last directors to work with Phoenix, stresses that the actor did not make the impression of being heavily involved with drugs. Interestingly, Bogdanovich quotes actor Tony Curtis, who "said cryptically, but with considerable weight" on a TV talk-show, that it was "difficult to comprehend how much envy" there was in Hollywood.

Shortly before his Halloween 1993 demise, River, whose extra-curricular activities had yet to be known publicly, stated that, "addiction is not just for bad people or scum-bags -it's a universal disease."

Fans and film critics alike have often observed the uncanny parallels to his highly unusual life history -and moments seemingly prophetic of his death- reflected in his motion pictures.

Tributes and references in music and pop culture

Filmography