River Phoenix was born on August 23, 1970 in Madras, Oregon.
River passed away on October 31, 1993 in Hollywood, California
from a drug-induced heart failure.
River Jude Bottom was River's birth name. He also went be the
nicknames Rio and Riv.
River Phoenix father John was the sect's "Archbishop of Venezuela".
His family moved in 1977 to Los Angeles and changed their name
to Phoenix. River Phoenix's parents encouraged all their children
to get into movies, and by age ten River was acting professionally
on TV.
In 1985 River Phoenix's film debut was EXPLORERS.
River Phoenix's role as Danny Pope in RUNNING ON EMPTY (1988)
earned him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor.
A dedicated animal rights activist and environmentalist, River
Phoenix 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 Aniguitar, sang,
and wrote songs for his band, Aleka's Attic, which also included
his sister Rain.
River Phoenix best role was probably Mike, the hustler in MY
OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1991).
River Phoenix died at age 23 outside Johnny Depp's Angeles
club, the Viper Room. River was in the middle of filming DARK
BLOOD (1993), playing the character "Boy" when he died. The
film couldn't have been finished due to too many unfilmed crucial
scenes.
In 1994 River was supposed to be the interviewer in INTERVIEW
WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES but he died. Christian
Slater took his place, and donated his entire paycheck from
the movie to all of River's favorite charities.
River was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of
1986" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38. River Phoenix was
Ranked #86 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars
of All Time" list in October 1997
River Phoenix's other notable credits include...
EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES (1993)
SNEAKERS
(1992)
MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1991)
INDIANA JONES
AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989)
STAND BY ME (1986)
EXPLORERS (1985)
SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1982-1983 TV series)
