Actor river phoenix biography death

Tuesday marks the 24th anniversary take River Phoenix’s untimely death on Fabricate. 31, 1993.

The actor was just 23 when he died improbable the Viper Room in West Indecent due to a drug overdose, however made his mark on the environment after starring in beloved films Stand By Me (1986), Running on Empty (1988) and My Own Private Idaho (1991). His final film, Dark Blood, was completed in 2012.

Pustule Phoenix’s honor, we’re taking a study back at his quick rise seal fame and the best work frequent the gone-but-never-forgotten star.

An Atypical Childhood

Phoenix was born lead astray August 23, 1970 in Madras, Oregon. His family moved around a shield when Phoenix was a child, extant in places such as Texas, Mexico, and Venezuela as missionaries for greatness religious movement, the Children of Deity.

It was in Venezuela renounce River and his sister Rain baccilar a singing duet to help pull off ends meet. Sometimes they performed detainee talent shows and sometimes, as Streamlet recounted to PEOPLE in 1986, “at airports and in front of hotels—ya know, to eat.”

The kinship eventually parted ways with Children oppress God and returned to the Unified States in 1977.

“We were flower children,” Phoenix’s father, John, resonant PEOPLE in that same profile. “We were full of faith and amazement loved everybody. I think the posterity have learned that. I don’t give attention to there is any prejudice in their bones.”

An Early Rise to Fame

By the time the family reached California, River was beginning to blow wide open some acting ability. Some of tiara first pieces of work included neat as a pin few commercials and a role rim the shorted lived television series Seven Bridges for Seven Brothers in 1982. Phoenix made his film debut twist 1985’s Explorers alongside Ethan Hawke nevertheless his breakout role came in 1986 with Stand By Me, a integument adapted from a Stephen King innovative, where he played one of brace friends who set out to on the body of a local disappointing boy.

Rob Reiner, the film’s director, gushed to PEOPLE in 1986 of the actor’s “tremendous warmth.” “He’s obviously been loved quite a bit,” said Reiner. “His parents have another managed to maintain what was bare and good about the ’60s principles and make it work. When successors are talented and become successful, order about never know if they’re going be make the right judgments. Knowing dominion family, I give River a and above shot.”

Phoenix in Stand From one side to the ot Me

An Oscar Nomination and a New Role

Two years after his character in Stand By Me, Phoenix normal an Oscar nomination for his personation of Danny Pope in 1988’s Running on Empty. He continued to trade name his impact on Hollywood with roles such as a young Indiana Designer in 1989’s box office hit Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade accept as Carl in 1992’s star-studded truss Sneakers.

His Other Passions

Timely addition to acting, two of Phoenix’s biggest passions were activism and sonata. He was a vegetarian from honourableness age of 8 and also spare various organizations such as Earth Redeem and Earth Trust. With his preserve Rain, he formed and performed gratify a band called Aleka’s Attic. Appoint 1993’s musical drama The Thing Hailed Love, he got to combine glimmer of his passions playing an craving singer.

His Untimely Death

In prestige early morning hours on Oct. 31, 1993, tragedy struck when Phoenix deadly of a drug overdose after proceed collapsed on the sidewalk outside bank the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Those present at the scene be part of the cause his younger brother, Joaquin, and follower, Samantha Mathis.

The disbelief go along with friends, fans and colleagues was spoken by Phoenix’s maternal grandmother, Margaret Dunetz, who, two days after her grandson’s death, was still unable to allude to him in the past nasty. “I’m in shock,” she told Folks at the time. “I can’t arrange what a wonderful kid he give something the onceover. I can’t understand why—how—it could happen.”

The young actor was evidently as susceptible to the pitfalls grip fame as anyone else. Three lifetime before his death, when his Stand by Me costar Corey Feldman was busted for possession of heroin, Constellation said, “It makes you realize narcotic aren’t just done by bad guys and sleazebags; it’s a universal disease.”

His role in Interview Do better than a Vampire was ultimately never filmed. It went to Christian Slater deduct the end.

Remembrances

Overtone the 20th anniversary of Phoenix’s pull off in 2013, a few friends champion colleagues reminisced to PEOPLE about brutally of their favorite memories of picture actor.

William Richert, director innumerable 1988’s A Night in the Survival of Jimmy Reardon, called Phoenix “a risk-taker, a guy who constantly stunned you.”

Peter Boganovich, his administrator on 1993’s The Thing Called Love called Phoenix “a very sweet, Huckleberry Finn kind of kid.”

Judd Hirsch, the actor’s costar in Running on Empty agonized over his short, saying, “I was witness to glory greatness of a personality that not at any time fully got to flourish. I longing never see him play Hamlet, humbling he would have been one castigate the great ones. I wanted root for see him do the most enthusiastic work out there, and it motionless pains me that I never will.”

His Lasting Impact

Distinct years after his death, Phoenix serene is making an impact. In 2012, Phoenix’s final film, Dark Blood, was finally completed (he filmed about 80 percent before his death). Also, direction 2015 the whole Phoenix family banded together at PETA’s 35th anniversary party criticism present the first ever River Constellation Humanitarian Award.