River Phoenix

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RiverPhBio Last Updated: 3/7/25
Real Name: River Jude Bottom
Born: August 23, 1970
Died: October 31, 1993 (aged 23)
Height: 5' 10"

Grade: C
Actor/Movie Star: 20%-80%
Prime Years: 1986, 1988-89, and 1991
Most Famous Film: Stand by Me (1986)
Most Infamous Film: The Thing Called Love (1993)
Masterpiece: Running on Empty (1988) and My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Outstanding: None
Honorable: The Mosquito Coast (1986) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Opinion: River Phoenix had fans back then? Yeah, right. They just liked the sound of his name. Otherwise, apart from Stand by Me and those starring big-name actors, why did all of his films fail at the box office? Hint: nobody was interested. Regardless, River Phoenix possessed talent but overacted quite often. That's because he was never schooled. Had he not died young at the age of 23, there's a strong chance he would've been a premier actor. Hence, it's difficult to judge him overall until he's well over 30 years old just like the rest of great ones. Do I think he would've made it? Most definitely yes because I've seen what he's capable of in Running on Empty, My Own Private Idaho, and maybe The Mosquito Coast although I'm not a fan of Stand by Me. That's only contingent on laying off the drugs for good.

Confirmed: Born in Metolious, Oregon, to hippie parents who were into alcohol and drugs, most especially marijuana and LSD. Was named "River" because of the following passage in Siddhartha while "Jude" came from the Beatles' song "Hey Jude": "The river has taught me to listen; you will learn from it, too. The river knows everything; one can learn everything from it. You have already learned from the river that it is good to strive downwards, to sink, to seek the depths."

His parents were part of a commune and worked on a peppermint farm. They joined a cult in 1972 called the Children of God (COG) that became deeply immersed in sex, even with children involved. Was molested and had sex with other children at age 4 which continued on until he was 10. Moved around constantly for the purpose of proselytization which explains why his brother Joaquin was born in Puerto Rico.

Was fluent in Spanish, having lived in South America, most especially Caracas, Venezuela, for some years, an experience that's not too different from The Mosquito Coast he would later star in. Because his parents were constantly poor, became an income earner around age 5 along with sister Rain by begging, performing, and singing on street corners and at hotels and airports. Both were entered in local talent shows without much success. In 1976, the leader of COG decreed, in the name of Flirty Fishing, that all female members were to provide escort services; hence, River's parents got disgusted and decided to end their time with the cult.

Left for the United States in 1978. On the way there via boat, Joaquin witnessed how fish were killed and decided to go vegetarian for life, forcing the whole family to adopt his principle. River furthered it a few months later by insisting that all go vegan. While moving around in Florida, they had hit the bottom, and father decided to change their last name to "Phoenix" as in rising from the ashes which was actually inspired by the X-Men comic book. River and Rain worked together to be entertainers in the singing business. They won a contest which led to being written up in a newspaper article that was eventually sent to Penny Marshall in Hollywood who actually knew River's mother, causing Paramount to take interest. Consequently, the whole family moved to California.

Upon arrival at Paramount Studios, River had been rebuffed, so his family lived around Los Angeles in penury, forcing the kids to beg, perform, and sing on street corners. Mother decided to get a secretarial job at NBC as a way for the kids to break in the showbiz. Iris Burton, a talent scout for children, became the key person to realize River's potential. At age 10, got work appearing in commercials for a year before graduating to television but didn't stop peforming on the street.

Achieved a major breakthrough through Stand by Me in 1986. While hanging out with Corey Feldman, was introduced to alcohol and marijuana for the first time. As a result, became an alcoholic and a pothead and later a cokehead. Started to smoke during the filming. Was Oscar-nominated for his outstanding performance in Running on Empty. Met Keanu Reeves for the first time when Joaquin was working on Parenthood along with Martha Plimpton.

There's a rumor that goes like this: "One day, Gus Van Sant showed his script of My Own Private Idaho to Keanu Reeves who agreed on the spot to take the role of Scott Favor. Not being able to get through River's agent, he rode his motorcycle solo from Canada to Gainesville, Florida, to share the script with the elusive actor, and they made a handshake deal on it." However, it's not true; both got the script while making I Love You to Death and took their time before deciding to do it because of the gay component.

Had sex with a male and experimented with hard drugs, especially heroin, for the first time to prepare for his role. That was the beginning of River's full-blown addiction to drugs. Also, spent his time learning from gay hustlers and watched how deals went down in exchange for sex around Portland, Oregon. Got busted for DUI during the filming. By all accounts, River wasn't any different off screen compared to how he acted in the film.

Fell apart during the making of The Thing Called Love, concerning everybody involved, but insisted that he didn't have a drug problem. Had to be babysat by his mother and Iris Burton from start to finish. As a result, gave the worst performance of his career by acting like a drug junkie with darting eyes, resulting in almost no more script offers. Was urged by many to seek help but refused to. Despite staying temporarily clean for Dark Blood, lost a lot of weight and was treated horribly by co-star Judy Davis.

At the Viper Room that was co-owned by Johnny Depp after midnight on Halloween of 1993, a friend gave a cup to River and told him to drink it; what he didn't know was it contained a speedball mix of heroin and cocaine. [There's a conflicting version that he snorted speedball in the bathroom; which one is correct, I don't know] Therefore, felt unwell, grew angry, and took Valium to fix the issue before vomiting on himself and passing out prior to being walked outside and passing away on the sidewalk. If you did an anagram on his name, it would come out as VIPER HEROIN X with the X standing for tenth month of the year. His short black hair, as seen in the death photo, was due to playing a character in Dark Blood that was ultimately 80% complete (the film was posthumously released in 2012).

Had a lazy, or rather virtually blind, left eye. Wore eyeglasses. His thespic siblings were Joaquin, Summer, and Rain. Lied constantly about himself and his family during interviews. Never had formal schooling all of his life. Possessed little knowledge of the America culture and rarely watched TV due to his upbringing in South America. Didn't understand the sense of humor that's commonly taken for granted and hated the Three Stooges. Played the guitar constantly since he was little. Sometimes preferred to be called "Rio." Was heavily scarred for life from the sex abuse he endured while he was a child growing up in the cult.

Rumors: According to the principles of COG, may have had sex with his mother and sister Rain. John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was the one who gave the fatal drink to River Phoenix.