- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRiver Jude Bottom
- Nicknames
- Rio
- Riv
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- 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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan, Christine, CMGiesBrady
- ChildrenNo Children
- ParentsArlyn BottomJohn Lee Bottom
- RelativesJoaquin Phoenix(Sibling)Summer Phoenix(Sibling)Rain Phoenix(Sibling)Liberty Phoenix(Sibling)Indiana Affleck(Niece or Nephew)
- Portraying innate emotional vulnerability
- Was supposed to begin work on Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) two weeks after his death. He was to play Daniel Molloy, the interviewer, which then went to Christian Slater, who donated his entire $250,000 salary to two of Phoenix's favorite charitable organizations: Earth Save and Earth Trust. The film has a dedication to Phoenix after the end credits.
- Best friend was Keanu Reeves.
- He disliked flying and traveled everywhere by car or by train.
- He and his brother Joaquin Phoenix are the first brothers to be nominated for
acting Academy Awards. - Had a very close bond with Harrison Ford.
- I would rather quit while I was ahead. There's no need in overstaying
your welcome. - I would just look at Harrison [Harrison Ford]; he would do stuff and I would
not mimic it, but interpret it younger. Mimicking is a terrible mistake
that many people make when they play someone younger, or with an age
difference. Mimicking doesn't interpret true because you can't just
edit it around. [on his interpretation of a young Indiana Jones in
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)] - "I feel that there are great minds up there who would like to see what
I can do with an Oscar nomination. I guess many people would change
after a nomination in the way they see things. In my case it's really
irrelevant in terms of what I do. Still, it was an incredible
experience which I will put in my memories, like everything else." (On
his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Running on Empty (1988) in
1989.) - If I have some celebrity, I hope I can use it to make a difference.
The true social reward is that I can speak my mind and share my
thoughts about the enviroment and civilisation itself. There's so much
shit happening with people who are exploiting their positions and
creating a lot of negativity. - Every day of my life since I finished My Own Private Idaho (1991), at some point in the
day, I find the conversation somehow goes back to that film, because it
was just such a great experience. I just start getting all joyous and
start babbling about it. [on his feelings about My Own Private Idaho (1991) just after the
film's release in 1991]
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