River Phoenix(1970-1993)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
River Phoenix was born River Jude Bottom in Madras, Oregon. His mother,
Arlyn (Dunetz), a Bronx-born secretary, and his father, John
Bottom, a carpenter, met in California in 1968. They worked as itinerant fruit pickers, and later joined the Children
of God religious group (John was originally Catholic, while Arlyn was
born Jewish). By the time River was two, they were living in South
America, where John was the sect's Archbishop of Venezuela. They later left the group and, in 1977, moved back to the United States, changing their last name to "Phoenix". They lived with River's maternal grandparents in Florida, and later moved to Los Angeles. His
parents encouraged all of their children to get into movies and, by age
ten, River was acting professionally on TV. His film debut was in
Explorers (1985), followed rapidly by
box-office successes with
Stand by Me (1986) and
The Mosquito Coast (1986), and
as young Indiana in
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
His role as Danny Pope in
Running on Empty (1988) earned
him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. His best role
was probably Mike, the hustler in
My Own Private Idaho (1991).
A dedicated animal-rights activist and environmentalist, River was a strict vegetarian and a member of PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). River was a talented musician as well as an actor, and he played guitar, sang, and wrote songs for his band, Aleka's Attic, which also included his sister Rain Phoenix, while living in Gainsville, Florida. Although the band never released its own album, their song "Across the Way" can be found on PeTA's "Tame Yourself" album, used to fight animal abuse. River was in the middle of filming Dark Blood (2012), playing the character Boy when he died. The film couldn't be finished due to too many unfilmed crucial scenes. His mother was later sued.
River died of acute multiple drug intoxication involving lethal levels of cocaine and morphine at age 23 outside the Viper Room, Johnny Depp's Los Angeles club.
A dedicated animal-rights activist and environmentalist, River was a strict vegetarian and a member of PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). River was a talented musician as well as an actor, and he played guitar, sang, and wrote songs for his band, Aleka's Attic, which also included his sister Rain Phoenix, while living in Gainsville, Florida. Although the band never released its own album, their song "Across the Way" can be found on PeTA's "Tame Yourself" album, used to fight animal abuse. River was in the middle of filming Dark Blood (2012), playing the character Boy when he died. The film couldn't be finished due to too many unfilmed crucial scenes. His mother was later sued.
River died of acute multiple drug intoxication involving lethal levels of cocaine and morphine at age 23 outside the Viper Room, Johnny Depp's Los Angeles club.
