River Phoenix#Death

River Phoenix was born on August 23, 1970, in Madras, Oregon, the first child of Arlyn Dunetz and John Lee Bottom.{{cite journal |last1=Levitt |first1=Shelley |last2=Benet |first2=Lorenzo |last3=Stambler |first3=Lyndon |last4=Dodd |first4=Johnny |last5=Stone |first5=Joanna |last6=Sider |first6=Don |name-list-style=and |date=November 15, 1993 |title=River's End |url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-rivers-end-vol-40-no-20/ |journal=People |volume=40 |issue=20 |pages=127–133 |access-date=April 19, 2022}} He had four younger siblings: Rain (born 1972), Joaquin (born 1974), Liberty (born 1976) and Summer (born 1978), as well as a paternal half-sister, Jodean (born 1964).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icv_AQAAQBAJ&q=jodean+bottom+joaquin&pg=PT6| title=He's Still Here: The Biography of Joaquin Phoenix| access-date=June 17, 2017| isbn=9781843584308| last1=Howden| first1=Martin| date=January 10, 2011| publisher=John Blake}} Phoenix's parents named him after the river of life from the Hermann Hesse novel Siddhartha, and he received his middle name from the Beatles' song "Hey Jude". In an interview with People, Phoenix described his parents as "hippieish".

His mother, Arlyn, was born in New York to Jewish parents whose families had emigrated from Russia and Hungary.{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-river-phoenix-1501412.html|title=Obituary: River Phoenix|last=Turner|first=Adrian|date=November 1, 1993|work=The Independent|access-date=May 26, 2018}}{{cite web |date=November 18, 2005 |title=Ten American showbiz celebrities of Russian descent |url=http://english.pravda.ru/news/russia/23-08-2002/16489-0/ |access-date=August 24, 2010 |publisher=pravda.ru}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/09/rain-phoenix-river-joaquin-family|title=Rain Phoenix's unusual childhood|last=Corner|first=Lena|date=July 9, 2011|website=The Guardian|access-date=May 26, 2018}} His father, John Lee Bottom, was a lapsed Catholic from Fontana, California, of English, German and French ancestry.{{cite web|last=Pfefferman |first=Naomi |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/5788/ |title=The Days of Summer |date=April 11, 2002 |website=Jewish Journal|access-date=April 19, 2022}} In 1968, Phoenix's mother travelled across the United States. While hitchhiking in California, she met John Lee Bottom. They got married on September 13, 1969, less than a year after meeting.

Phoenix's family moved cross country when he was very young. Phoenix has stated that they lived in a "desperate situation." Phoenix often played guitar while he and his sister sang on street corners for money and food to support their ever-growing family.{{cite news |last=Parker |first=Ian |date=December 5, 1993 |title=Wasted: How on earth did River Phoenix, purest of all child stars, sensitive, clean-living and eco-friendly, end up dead from a drug overdose at the age of 23? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/wasted-how-on-earth-did-river-phoenix-purest-of-all-child-stars-sensitive-cleanliving-and-ecofriendly-end-up-dead-from-a-drug-overdose-at-the-age-of-23-the-answer-lies-in-a-secret-life-that-was-shocking-even-by-the-notorious-double-standards-of-hollywood-1465475.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719174348/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/wasted-how-on-earth-did-river-phoenix-purest-of-all-child-stars-sensitive-cleanliving-and-ecofriendly-end-up-dead-from-a-drug-overdose-at-the-age-of-23-the-answer-lies-in-a-secret-life-that-was-shocking-even-by-the-notorious-double-standards-of-hollywood-1465475.html |archive-date=July 19, 2013 |access-date=July 22, 2013 |work=The Independent}} Phoenix never attended formal school. Screenwriter Naomi Foner later commented, "He was totally, totally without education. I mean, he could read and write, and he had an appetite for it, but he had no deep roots into any kind of sense of history or literature." Filmmaker George Sluizer claimed Phoenix was dyslexic.{{cite news |last=Macnab |first=Geoffrey |date=September 28, 2012 |title=River Phoenix: the last film |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/sep/27/river-phoenix-dark-blood-last-film |access-date=June 18, 2017 |work=The Guardian}}

In 1973, the family joined the religious cult known as the Children of God.{{cite web |last=Corner |first=Lena |date= July 8, 2011 |title=Rain Phoenix's unusual childhood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/09/rain-phoenix-river-joaquin-family |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=February 11, 2020}} His family settled in Caracas, Venezuela, where the Children of God had stationed them to work as missionaries and fruit gatherers.

According to Vanity Fair, Phoenix was raped at the age of four.{{cite magazine |first=Micah |last=Nathan |title=Remembering River Phoenix, 23 Years After His Death |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/10/remembering-river-phoenix-23-years-after-his-death |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=October 31, 2016 |access-date=August 28, 2018}} In an interview with Details magazine in November 1991, Phoenix stated he lost his virginity at age four to other children while in the Children of God, but he had "blocked it out."{{Cite web |title=Gone Before 30: Stars Who Died Young |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=4174733&page=1 |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=ABC News |language=en}} In 2019, his brother Joaquin would claim that River was joking, saying, "It was literally a joke, because he was so tired of being asked ridiculous questions by the press."{{cite web|last=Hagen|first=Joe|title="I Fucking Love My Life": Joaquin Phoenix on Joker, Why River Is His Rosebud, His Rooney Research, and His "Prenatal" Gift for Dark Characters|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/joaquin-phoenix-cover-story?inline|work=Vanity Fair|date=November 2019|access-date=July 17, 2021}} Although Phoenix rarely talked about the cult, he was quoted in an article published in Esquire in 1994 as having said, "They're disgusting, they're ruining people's lives."{{cite magazine|last=Friend |first=Tad |url=http://www.aleka.org/phoenix/zines/phoenix7.html |title=River, with love and anger |magazine=Esquire |issue=March 1, 1994 }} Arlyn and John eventually grew disillusioned with the "Church" and left the cult in 1977.{{cite magazine|last=Bruney|first=Gabrielle|date=October 5, 2019|title=Joaquin Phoenix and Rose McGowan Spent Their Early Years in a Religious Cult. Then it Became Infamous.|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a29374581/children-of-god-cult-joaquin-phoenix-rose-mcgowan/|url-status=live|magazine=Esquire|archive-url=https://archive.today/20211205050039/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a29374581/children-of-god-cult-joaquin-phoenix-rose-mcgowan/|archive-date=December 5, 2021|access-date=December 14, 2022}}

In the aforementioned interview with Details magazine, Phoenix said he was "completely celibate" between the ages of 10 and 14.{{cite magazine|last=Taylor|first=Trey|date=October 31, 2018|title=River Phoenix's Insatiable Appetite for Sex|url=https://www.anothermag.com/another-man/12561/river-phoenix-s-insatiable-appetite-for-sex-deadline-interview|url-status=live|website=Another Magazine|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221214005754/https://www.anothermag.com/another-man/12561/river-phoenix-s-insatiable-appetite-for-sex-deadline-interview|archive-date=December 14, 2022|access-date=December 14, 2022}}

Back in the United States, Arlyn began working as a secretary for an NBC broadcaster and John as an exteriors architect. Talent agent Iris Burton spotted River, Joaquin, and their sisters Summer and Rain singing for spare change in Westwood, Los Angeles, and was so charmed by the family that she soon represented the four siblings.{{cite news|title=Obituary: Iris Burton, Hollywood agent|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/obituary-iris-burton-hollywood-agent/2008/04/16/1208025282822.html|access-date=July 4, 2014|work=The Age|date=April 17, 2008|location=Melbourne}}

Phoenix started doing commercials for Mitsubishi, Ocean Spray and Saks Fifth Avenue, and soon afterward he and the other children were signed by Paramount Pictures casting director Penny Marshall. River and Rain were assigned immediately to a show called Real Kids as audience warm-up performers. In 1980, Phoenix began to fully pursue his career as an actor, making his first appearance on a TV show called Fantasy singing with his sister Rain.{{Cite web|url=http://river-phoenix.org/timeline/|title=Rio's Attic - Timeline of a Phoenix|website=river-phoenix.org|access-date=February 21, 2010|archive-date=February 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207112936/http://river-phoenix.org/timeline/|url-status=dead}}{{better source needed|date=September 2021}} In 1982, Phoenix was cast in the short-lived CBS television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, in which he starred as youngest brother Guthrie McFadden. Phoenix arrived at the auditions with his guitar and promptly burst into a convincing Elvis Presley impersonation, charming the show producer.{{Cite web |title=Rio's Attic - Phoenix TV |url=http://www.river-phoenix.org/tv/seven-brides/ |website=river-phoenix.org}}{{better source needed|date=September 2021}} By this age, Phoenix was also an accomplished tap dancer.

Almost a year after Seven Brides ended in 1983, Phoenix found a new role in the 1984 television movie Celebrity, in which he played the part of young Jeffie Crawford. Although only onscreen for about ten minutes, his character was central.{{Cite web |title=Rio's Attic - Phoenix TV |url=http://www.river-phoenix.org/tv/celebrity/ |website=river-phoenix.org}}{{better source needed|date=September 2021}} Less than a month after Celebrity came the ABC Afterschool Special: Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia. Phoenix starred as a young boy who discovers he has dyslexia. Joaquin starred in a small role alongside his brother. In September, the pilot episode of short-lived TV series It's Your Move aired. Phoenix was cast as Brian and only had one line of dialogue. He also starred as Robert Kennedy's son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in the TV movie Robert Kennedy and His Times. After his role in Dyslexia was critically acclaimed, Phoenix was almost immediately cast in a major role in made-for-TV movie Surviving: A Family in Crisis. He starred as Philip Brogan alongside Molly Ringwald and Heather O'Rourke. Halfway through the filming of Surviving, Iris Burton contacted him about a possible role in the film Explorers.{{Cite web |title=Rio's Attic - Phoenix TV |url=http://www.river-phoenix.org/tv/surviving/ |website=river-phoenix.org}}{{better source needed|date=September 2021}}

In October 1984, Phoenix secured the role of geeky boy-scientist Wolfgang Müller in Joe Dante's big-budget science-fiction film Explorers alongside Ethan Hawke, and production began soon after. Released in the summer of 1985, this was Phoenix's first major motion picture role. In October 1986, Phoenix co-starred alongside Tuesday Weld and Geraldine Fitzgerald in the acclaimed CBS television movie Circle of Violence: A Family Drama, which told a story of domestic elder abuse. This was Phoenix's last television role before achieving film stardom.

File:River Phoenix and Martha Plimpton.jpg on the red carpet at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989|upright=1]]

Phoenix had a significant role in Rob Reiner's popular coming-of-age film Stand by Me (1986), which made him a household name at 16. Filming started on June 17, 1985, and ended in late August 1985, making Phoenix 14 for most (if not all) of the movie. The Washington Post opined that Phoenix gave the film its "centre of gravity". Phoenix commented: "The truth is, I identified so much with the role of Chris Chambers that if I hadn't had my family to go back to after the shoot, I'd have probably had to see a psychiatrist." Later that year, Phoenix completed Peter Weir's The Mosquito Coast (1986), playing the son of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren's characters. "He was obviously going to be a movie star," observed Weir. "It's something apart from acting ability. Laurence Olivier never had what River had." During the five-month shoot in Belize, Phoenix began a romance with co-star Martha Plimpton, a relationship which continued in some form for many years. Phoenix was surprised by the poor reception for the film, feeling more secure about his work in it than he had in Stand by Me.

Phoenix was next cast as the lead in the teen comedy-drama A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988), but was disappointed with his performance: "It didn't turn out the way I thought it would, and I put the blame on myself. I wanted to do a comedy, and it was definitely a stretch, but I'm not sure I was even the right person for the role."{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-03-27-8803040033-story.html|title=The Rise of River Phoenix|first=Iain|last=Blair|website=Chicago Tribune |date=March 27, 1988 |access-date=July 22, 2013}} Also in 1988, Phoenix starred in Little Nikita alongside Sidney Poitier. During this time, the Phoenix family continued to move on a regular basis, relocating over forty times by the time Phoenix was 18. Phoenix purchased his family a ranch in Micanopy, Florida, near Gainesville, in 1987, in addition to a spread in Costa Rica.

File:River Phoenix.jpg' Governor's Ball, March 1989]]

His sixth feature film was Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty (1988), for which the 18-year-old Phoenix received National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and nominations for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award, becoming the sixth-youngest Academy Award nominee in the category.{{Cite web|last=Renfro|first=Kim|title=The 31 youngest Oscar nominees of all time|url=https://www.insider.com/youngest-oscar-nominees-2018-2|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=Insider}}{{Cite web|last=Evry|first=Max|title=The 25 Youngest Oscar Nominees of All Time|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/2802405/youngest-oscar-nominees-winners-of-all-time/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301024436/http://www.mtv.com/news/2802405/youngest-oscar-nominees-winners-of-all-time/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 1, 2017|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=MTV News}} Phoenix jumped to his feet during the ceremony when Kevin Kline beat him to the Oscar. "I had to stop River from running to hug Kevin," recalled his mother Arlyn. "It never crossed his mind that he hadn't won". In 1989, he portrayed a young Indiana Jones in the prologue of the box-office hit Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford.

Phoenix was photographed by Bruce Weber for Vogue and was spokesperson for a campaign for Gap in 1990. He starred with Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright and Keanu Reeves in the 1990 comedy film I Love You to Death. Phoenix had met Reeves while Reeves was filming the 1989 film Parenthood with Phoenix's brother, Joaquin, and girlfriend, Martha Plimpton; however, Phoenix had reportedly auditioned for Bill in Reeves' then-current film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure before the role was taken by Alex Winter.{{cite news|url=http://www.pajiba.com/seriously_random_lists/bill-teds-excellent-adventure-movie-facts.php |title='Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' Movie Facts |newspaper=Pajiba |date=May 8, 2018 |access-date=March 13, 2019 |last1=Smith |first1=Jodi }}{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Kat |date=March 4, 2019 |title=Ten Things You Never Knew About 'Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure' |url=http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2019/03/04/ten-things-you-never-knew-about-bill-and-teds-excellent-adventure/ |access-date=March 13, 2019 |publisher=The Hollywood News}}

He co-starred with Lili Taylor in the acclaimed independent picture Dogfight (1991), directed by Nancy Savoca. In the romantic coming-of-age drama set in San Francisco, Phoenix portrayed a young U.S. Marine on the night before he is shipped off to Vietnam in November 1963. Taylor remarked that Phoenix suffered because he could not distance himself from his character: "He also hadn't gotten into any [drugs]—he was just drinking then, too. It was different... That was actually a hard part for him, because it was so radically different from who he was. He was such a hippie, and here he was playing this marine. It actually caused him a lot of discomfort. I don't think he enjoyed that, actually, getting into that psyche."{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/lili-taylor-1798219253 |title=Lili Taylor |newspaper=The A.V. Club |date=March 10, 2010 |access-date=April 19, 2022 |first=Kyle| last=Ryan}}

Phoenix reunited with Keanu Reeves to co-star in Gus Van Sant's 1991 avant-garde film My Own Private Idaho. In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen praised Phoenix's performance as gay hustler Michael Waters: "The campfire scene in which Mike awkwardly declares his unrequited love for Scott is a marvel of delicacy. In this, and every scene, Phoenix immerses himself so deeply inside his character you almost forget you've seen him before: it's a stunningly sensitive performance, poignant and comic at once". He won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1991 Venice Film Festival. In addition, the 21-year-old Phoenix received Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, becoming the second-youngest winner of the former. His critically acclaimed performance helped bring queer cinema to a mainstream audience. The film and its success solidified his image as an actor with edgy, leading man potential. In that period, Phoenix was beginning to use marijuana, cocaine and heroin with some friends.{{cite journal |last1=Schindehette |first1=Susan |last2=Stambler |first2=Lyndon |last3=Dodd |first3=Johnny |last4=Benet |first4=Lorenzo |last5=Stone |first5=Joanna |name-list-style=and |date=January 17, 1994 |title=High Life |url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-high-life-vol-41-no-2/ |journal=People |volume=41 |issue=2 |access-date=April 19, 2022}}

Around this time, Phoenix was approached by George Lucas to reprise his role of a younger Indiana Jones for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, a spin-off television series produced by the ABC that served as a prequel to the Indiana Jones films. However, Phoenix declined to reprise the role due to having started his career in different sitcoms and struggled hard to get out from the television medium, not being willing to return to it. The role of a younger Indy was eventually filled by Corey Carrier and Sean Patrick Flannery, respectively.{{cite web |url=http://www.theraider.net/films/young_indy/making_2_casting.php |title=The Making of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Chapter 2: Casting |publisher=TheRaider.net |access-date=May 12, 2023 |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116105011/http://www.theraider.net/films/young_indy/making_2_casting.php |url-status=live }}

He teamed up with Robert Redford and again with Sidney Poitier for the conspiracy/espionage thriller Sneakers (1992). A month later, he began production on Sam Shepard's art-house ghost western Silent Tongue (which was released in 1994). He was beaten out for the role of Paul by Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It. Phoenix then starred in Peter Bogdanovich's country music-themed film, The Thing Called Love (1993), the last completed picture before his death. He began a relationship with co-star Samantha Mathis on the set.

Phoenix's sudden death prevented him from playing various roles:

• Phoenix was due to begin work on Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire (1994) two weeks after his death.{{cite news |url=https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/movies_tv/article_d2d2ee99-8e86-512d-999f-97e7e8955478.html |title=Brad Pitt says 'Interview with the Vampire' was a 'miserable' experience |date=September 24, 2011 |access-date=April 19, 2022 |newspaper=The Times-Picayune |last=Scott |first=Mike}}{{cite web |title=See the Cast of 'Interview with the Vampire' Then and Now |url=http://screencrush.com/interview-with-the-vampire-then-and-now/ |last=Hayes |first=Britt |date=January 12, 2014 |access-date=August 1, 2018 |work=ScreenCrush}} He was to play the part of Daniel Molloy, the interviewer, which then went to Christian Slater,{{cite news|first=Ryan |last=Gilbey |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/oct/24/1 |title=Ryan Gilbey on the legacy of River Phoenix|newspaper=The Guardian |date= November 5, 2003|access-date=December 16, 2011 |location=London}}{{cite web |last=Chan |first=Vera H-C |date=September 15, 2011 |title=The Misery of Brad Pitt |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/misery-brad-pitt-235500314.html |access-date=December 16, 2011 |publisher=Yahoo! Movies}} who donated his entire $250,000 salary to two of Phoenix's favorite charitable organizations: Earth Save and Earth Trust.{{Cite web |date=November 18, 1993 |title=Christian Slater |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Sb4fAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QdgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4230,2278705&dq=christian+slater+river+phoenix+salary&hl=en |access-date=2025-02-11 |publisher=Gadsden Times |via=news.google.com}}{{cite magazine|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/slaters-mother-makes-emotional-appeal-to-press |title=Christian Slater – Slater's Mother Makes Emotional Appeal To Press |magazine=Contact Music |access-date=November 18, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/plea-christian-charity-article-1.649224 |title=Plea For Christian Charity |last=Grove, Lloyd |website=New York Daily News |date=December 1999 | access-date = February 7, 2015}} The film has a dedication to Phoenix after the end credits.
• The Guardian suggested in 2003 "it was likely that Phoenix would have followed Interview with the Vampire by appearing as Susan Sarandon's son in Safe Passage (1994), a role that went to Sean Astin.
• Phoenix had signed onto the lead role in Broken Dreams, a screenplay written by John Boorman and Neil Jordan (to be directed by Boorman), and co-starring Winona Ryder. The film was put on hold due to Phoenix's death. In June 2012, it was announced that Caleb Landry Jones had been cast in the role.{{cite web |date=June 22, 2012 |title=Caleb Landry Jones Leading John Boorman's Resurrected 'Broken Dream'; John Hurt Takes Supporting Role |url=http://thefilmstage.com/news/caleb-landry-jones-starring-in-john-boormans-resurrected-broken-dream-john-hurt-takes-supporting-role/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415011252/https://thefilmstage.com/news/caleb-landry-jones-starring-in-john-boormans-resurrected-broken-dream-john-hurt-takes-supporting-role/ |archive-date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=July 3, 2012 |website=thefilmstage.com}}
• Gus Van Sant had persuaded Phoenix to agree to play the role of Cleve Jones in Milk when he was originally planning on making the movie in the early 1990s. The role was eventually played by Emile Hirsch in 2008.
• When Gus Van Sant was asked in Interview magazine, "You were going to do a movie with River about Andy Warhol, right?", he said, "Yeah. River kind of looked like Andy in his younger days. But that project never really went forward."{{cite magazine |date= |title=James Franco |url=http://www.interviewmagazine.com/topshop/james-franco-1/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822034750/http://www.interviewmagazine.com/topshop/james-franco-1/ |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |access-date=December 13, 2022 |magazine=Interview Magazine}} Only first of four pages archived; Milk comment appears on non-archived page.
• In 1988, Phoenix was reportedly carrying around a copy of the memoir The Basketball Diaries (1978). He had heard a movie version was in the works and wanted to play the autobiographical role of Jim Carroll. The film was sent into hiatus on numerous occasions with Phoenix being cited as the main contender for the role each time. The Basketball Diaries (1995) was made with 19-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead.{{Cite web|date=April 5, 2016|title=7 Movies That Might Have Starred River Phoenix|url=https://www.goliath.com/movies/7-movies-that-might-have-starred-river-phoenix/|access-date=April 30, 2021|website=Goliath|archive-date=January 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117123529/https://www.goliath.com/movies/7-movies-that-might-have-starred-river-phoenix/|url-status=dead}}
• He had expressed interest in playing the 19th-century poet Arthur Rimbaud in Total Eclipse (1995) by Polish director Agnieszka Holland. Phoenix died before the movie was cast, with the role eventually going to Leonardo DiCaprio.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/11121170/Leonardo-DiCaprio-in-pictures.html?frame=3051381 |title=Total Eclipse (1996) - Leonardo DiCaprio: his career in pictures |access-date=February 11, 2020 |newspaper=Telegraph}}
• Phoenix was James Cameron's original choice to play Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997), with the role ultimately going to Leonardo DiCaprio.{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2494354/actors-who-couldve-been-cast-in-titanic|title=12 Actors Who Could've Been Cast In Titanic|last=Ashton|first=Will|date=September 15, 2022|website=CinemaBlend|publisher=Future plc|access-date=December 13, 2022|quote=James Cameron had originally considered River Phoenix for the role, but the young actor tragically passed away before he could be asked to play the leading man part.}}
• Comic book writer Lee Marrs claimed in a 2023 interview with the IndyCast podcast that Lucasfilm Ltd. considered for a while to make a continuation to the Indiana Jones film series starring Phoenix as a younger Indy, being this the primary reason for which Dark Horse Comics hoped to keep running their Indiana Jones comic book line. Phoenix's death in 1993 put an end to this option and Dark Horse cancelled their line a few years later, stopping the development of any Indiana Jones films until Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).{{Cite podcast |url=https://www.theindycast.com/indycast-episode-330/ |title=Indycast: Episode 330 |website=IndyCast |publisher=IndyCast |date=February 20, 2023 |time= |access-date=April 29, 2023 |last=Dolista |first=Ed}} Last Crusade actor Richard Young previously claimed in 2018 that there were talks about him and Phoenix doing a prequel movie together about Phoenix's younger Indy and Young's Fedora.{{cite web|title=Indymag issue 14 - interview with Junior Jones - March 2018|url=https://issuu.com/indymag/docs/indymag_14_-_march_2018_-_print|website=Isssu|date=March 30, 2018 |access-date=27 November 2024}}

Although Phoenix's movie career was generating most of the income for his family, it has been stated by close friends and relatives that his true passion was music. Phoenix was a singer, songwriter and accomplished guitarist. He had begun teaching himself guitar at age five and had stated in an interview for E! in 1988 that his family's move to Los Angeles when he was nine was so that he and his sister "could become recording artists. I fell into commercials for financial reasons and acting became an attractive concept". Before securing an acting agent, Phoenix and his siblings tried to forge a career in music by playing cover versions on the streets of the Westwood district of LA, often being moved along by police because gathering crowds would obstruct the sidewalk. From the first fruits of his film success, Phoenix saved $650 to obtain his prized possession: a guitar with which he wrote what he described as "progressive, ethereal folk-rock".

While working on A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon in 1986, Phoenix had written and recorded a song, "Heart to Get", specifically for the end credits of the movie. 20th Century Fox cut it from the completed film, but director William Richert put it back into place for his director's cut some years later. It was during filming that Phoenix met Chris Blackwell of Island Records; this meeting would later secure Phoenix a two-year development deal with the label. Phoenix disliked the idea of being a solo artist and relished collaboration; therefore he focused on putting together a band. Aleka's Attic were formed in 1987 and the lineup included his sister Rain.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3209145.stm|title=Entertainment: A decade without River Phoenix|work=BBC News|date=October 31, 2003|access-date=August 24, 2010}}

Phoenix was committed to gaining credibility by his own merit and maintained that the band would not use his name when securing performances that were not benefits for charitable organizations. Phoenix's first release was "Across the Way", co-written with bandmate Josh McKay, which was released in 1989 on a benefit album for PETA titled Tame Yourself.{{cite book|title=They Died Too Young: The Brief Lives and Tragic Deaths of the Mega-Star Legends of Our Times|year=1996|publisher=Smithmark Pub|isbn=0-765-19600-X|page=76|editor=Hall, Tony}} In 1991, Phoenix wrote and recorded a spoken word piece called "Curi Curi" for Milton Nascimento's album TXAI.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidedef00bogd/page/920 |title=All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=2001 |isbn=0-879-30627-0 |editor1=Bogdanov |editor-first=Vladimir |page=[https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidedef00bogd/page/920 920] |editor2=Woodstra |editor-first2=Chris |editor3=Erlewine |editor-first3=Stephen Thomas |editor-link3=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}} Also in 1991, the Aleka's Attic track "Too Many Colors" was used in the film My Own Private Idaho, which included Phoenix in a starring role.

Aleka's Attic disbanded in 1992, but Phoenix continued writing and performing. While working on the film The Thing Called Love in 1993, Phoenix wrote and recorded the song "Lone Star State of Mine", which he performs in the movie. The song was not included on the film's soundtrack album. In 1996, the Aleka's Attic track "Note to a Friend" was released on the 1996 benefit album In Defense of Animals; Volume II and featured Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers on bass. Phoenix had collaborated with friend John Frusciante after his first departure from Red Hot Chili Peppers and the songs "Height Down" and "Well I've Been" were released on Frusciante's second solo album Smile from the Streets You Hold in 1997.{{Cite web |last=Karemo |first=Tuomas |date=2018-10-01 |title=There's no more me – the history and love story behind John Frusciante's Niandra LaDes |url=https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2018/10/01/theres-no-more-me-the-history-and-love-story-behind-john-frusciantes-niandra |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=yle.fi |language=en}} Phoenix was an investor in the original House of Blues (founded by his good friend and Sneakers co-star Dan Aykroyd) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which opened its doors to the public after serving a group of homeless people on Thanksgiving Day 1992.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9y9KAAAAIBAJ&pg=3101,4159902 |title=The Vindicator – Google News Archive Search |access-date=December 21, 2013}}

Phoenix was a dedicated animal rights and environmental activist. He was a vegan from the age of seven.{{cite web|url=http://www.veganpeace.com/famousvegans/profiles/river_phoenix.htm|title=Famous Vegans: River Phoenix|work=Vegan Peace|access-date=September 1, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718043200/http://veganpeace.com/famousvegans/profiles/river_phoenix.htm|archive-date=July 18, 2012}} He was a prominent spokesperson for PETA and won their Humanitarian Award in 1992 for his fund-raising efforts.{{cite web|url=http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biography-of-river-jude-phoenix.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828044813/http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biography-of-river-jude-phoenix.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 28, 2010 |title=Biography of River Jude Phoenix |publisher=Buzzle |access-date=August 24, 2010}} His first girlfriend Martha Plimpton recalled: "Once when we were fifteen, River and I went out for a fancy dinner in Manhattan, and I ordered soft-shell crabs. He left the restaurant and walked around on Park Avenue, crying. I went out and he said, 'I love you so much, why? ... ' He had such pain that I was eating an animal, that he hadn't impressed on me what was right."{{cite news|url=https://classic.esquire.com/article/1994/3/1/river-with-love-and-anger |title=River, with love and anger |work=Esquire |date=April 1994 |access-date=April 19, 2022 |first=Tad |last=Friend|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216162846/http://aleka.org/phoenix/zines/phoenix7.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2009 }}

In 1990, Phoenix wrote an environmental awareness essay about Earth Day targeted at his young fan base, which was printed in Seventeen magazine.{{cite web |title=We are the world {{!}} Seventeen, April 1990 |url=http://www.aleka.org/phoenix/zines/phoeni20.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211042828/http://www.aleka.org/phoenix/zines/phoeni20.htm |archive-date=December 11, 2012 |website=aleka.org}} He financially aided many environmental and humanitarian organizations, and bought {{cvt|800|acre}} of endangered rainforest in Costa Rica.{{cite news|last1=Keefe|first1=Robert|title=Actor had business interests in Tampa|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/11/02/actor-had-business-interests-in-tampa/|access-date=April 19, 2022|work=Tampa Bay Times|date=November 2, 1993}} {{subscription required}} As well as giving speeches at rallies for various groups, Phoenix and his band often played environmental benefits for well-known charities as well as local ones in the Gainesville, Florida area.{{cite news |last1=Hubler |first1=Shawn |last2=Hall |first2=Carla |name-list-style=and |title=Autopsy Reveals Little on Death of River Phoenix |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-02-mn-52415-story.html |access-date=April 19, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times}}

He campaigned for Bill Clinton in the 1992 U.S. presidential election.{{cite web|url=http://www.myriverphoenixcollection.com/clinton.html |title=Bill Clinton Rally |work=Myriverphoenixcollection.com |date=October 31, 1993 |access-date=August 28, 2018}}

In February 1986, during the filming of The Mosquito Coast, Phoenix, then 15, began a romance with his co-star Martha Plimpton.{{cite news |last=Aurthur |first= Kate|date=March 30, 2014 |title= Martha Plimpton Moves On (Again)|url= https://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/martha-plimpton-moves-on-again|work=BuzzFeed |location= |access-date=June 10, 2022}} They had met a year earlier but initially disliked each other.{{Cite web|url=http://aleka.org/phoenix/zines/phoeni27.html|title=Life through a lens: River Phoenix |website=aleka.org |date=November 1998}}{{better source needed|date=September 2021}} They also co-starred in the 1988 film Running on Empty before the relationship ended in June 1989 due to Phoenix's drug use. The two maintained a close friendship until his death. Plimpton later stated, "When we split up, a lot of it was that I had learned that screaming, fighting and begging wasn't going to change him. He had to change himself, and he didn't want to yet."{{cite book |last1=Lawrence |first1=Barry C. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/In+Search+of+River+Phoenix.-a0137430392 |title=In search of River Phoenix |publisher=Wordsworth |year=2004 |isbn=9780967249193 |pages=333}}

Pink, a roman à clef by director Gus Van Sant, asserts that Phoenix was not a regular drug user but only an occasional one, and that the actor had a more serious problem with alcohol. Phoenix had always tried to hide his addictions because he feared that they might ruin his career as they did his relationship with Plimpton.Gus Van Sant, Pink, Faber & Faber, 1998, {{ISBN|0-385-49353-3}}

For the last year of his life, in 1993, he dated his The Thing Called Love co-star Samantha Mathis. Mathis was with Phoenix on the night he died.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/25/the-untold-story-of-lost-star-river-phoenix-25-years-after-his-death|title=The untold story of lost star River Phoenix – 25 years after his death|first=Hadley|last=Freeman|newspaper=The Guardian| date=October 25, 2018|access-date=July 14, 2021}}

File:Viper Room.jpg on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, where Phoenix died]]

In late October 1993, Phoenix had returned to Los Angeles after flying back from spending one week in New Mexico. Before that, he had spent six to seven weeks in Utah to complete the three weeks of interior shots left on his last project, Dark Blood.{{cite news |title=Actor River Phoenix dies |url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/actor-river-phoenix-dies-115499/ |date=October 31, 1993 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=February 8, 2015}}

In Bob Forrest's book, Running with Monsters, he wrote that Phoenix spent the days preceding his death on a drug binge with John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Phoenix and Frusciante were consuming cocaine and heroin and had not slept for several days.{{cite news |last= Callahan|first= Maureen |date=September 22, 2013 |title= River Phoenix's final hours |url= https://nypost.com/2013/09/22/river-phoenixs-final-hours/|work= New York Post|location= |access-date=June 10, 2022}}

On the evening of October 30, 1993, Phoenix arrived with his girlfriend Samantha Mathis, his brother Joaquin, and sister Rain at The Viper Room, a Hollywood nightclub partly owned by Johnny Depp. Phoenix was to perform with the band P, which featured Phoenix's friends Flea and John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, and Depp.

According to Bob Forrest, during the performance by P, Phoenix tapped Forrest on the shoulder to tell him he was not feeling well and that he thought he had overdosed. Forrest said to Phoenix that he did not think that he was overdosing because he could stand and talk. Nonetheless, he offered to take Phoenix home, but the latter declined, saying he was feeling better. A few moments later, Forrest said that a commotion erupted in the club and he went outside to find Mathis screaming as her boyfriend was lying on the sidewalk having convulsions. Unable to determine whether or not his older brother was breathing, Joaquin called 911. Rain proceeded to give her brother mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.{{cite magazine |last1=Grisolia |first1=Cynthia |last2=Davidson |first2=Casey |name-list-style=and |date=November 12, 1993 |title=The passing of River Phoenix: at the scene |url=http://ew.com/article/1993/11/12/passing-river-phoenix-scene/ |access-date=April 19, 2022 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}

According to Gibby Haynes, the band was performing their song "Michael Stipe" while Phoenix was outside the venue having seizures on the sidewalk.{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2007/07/they-came-hollywood// |title=They Came from Hollywood |date=July 30, 2007 |publisher=SPIN.com |access-date=December 16, 2011}} When the news filtered through the club, Flea left the stage and rushed outside. By that time, paramedics had arrived on the scene and found Phoenix in apparent cardiac arrest. Flea accompanied him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, but attempts to resuscitate Phoenix at the hospital were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 1:51 a.m. PST on the morning of October 31, 1993, at the age of 23."Autopsy: The Last Hours of River Phoenix." Autopsy: The Last Hours of.... Narrated by Eric Meyers, executive produced by Suzy Davis, Michael Kelpie, Phil Mount and Ed Taylor. Reelz. June 13, 2020.

Years later, Samantha Mathis said that during her relationship with Phoenix, she had known him to be sober. However, Mathis added that in the moments just before his death, she "knew something was going on." She said, "I didn't see anyone doing drugs [that night] but he was high in a way that made me feel uncomfortable".{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2018/10/26/river-phoenixs-death-samantha-mathis-breaks-silence-25-years-later/1770566002/| title=River Phoenix's death: Samantha Mathis breaks silence about the tragic night 25 years ago| first=Bryan| last=Alexander| newspaper=USA Today| date=October 26, 2018| access-date=October 27, 2018}} She also said that "the heroin that killed him didn't happen until he was in the Viper Room." Mathis went to the restroom; on her way back to the table, she saw Phoenix scuffling with another man. The bouncers removed both men from the club. Mathis shouted at the other man, "What have you done? What are you on?" Another person responded, "Leave him alone, you're spoiling his high." By that time, Phoenix had fallen to the ground and begun to convulse.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/25/the-untold-story-of-lost-star-river-phoenix-25-years-after-his-death|title=The untold story of lost star River Phoenix – 25 years after his death| first=Hadley| last=Freeman| newspaper=The Guardian| date=October 25, 2018| access-date=October 25, 2018}}

After Phoenix's death, the club became a makeshift shrine with fans and mourners leaving flowers, pictures, and candles on the sidewalk and graffiti messages on the walls of the venue.{{cite news |last=Braxton |first=Greg |date=November 9, 1993 |title=The Club Scene, Running on Full After Phoenix's Death, It's Business (Almost) as Usual at L.A. Hot Spots |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-09-ca-55058-story.html |access-date=April 19, 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times}} A sign was placed in the window that read, "With much respect and love to River and his family, The Viper Room is temporarily closed. Our heartfelt condolences to all his family, friends and loved ones. He will be missed." The club remained closed for a week. Depp continued to close the club every year on October 31 until selling his share in 2004.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/depp-sells-his-share-of-viper-room |title=Johnny Depp – Depp Sells His Share of Viper Room |magazine=Contactmusic |access-date=August 24, 2010}}

The autopsy report, finished on November 15, 1993, stated that there were "high concentrations of morphine and cocaine in the blood, as well as other substances in smaller concentrations." The cause of death was "acute multiple drug intoxication."{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/13/us/death-of-river-phoenix-is-linked-to-use-of-cocaine-and-morphine.html | title = Death of River Phoenix Is Linked To Use of Cocaine and Morphine | first= Seth| last= Mydans | work =The New York Times | date= November 13, 1993 | access-date= March 1, 2014 }}

On November 24, 1993, Arlyn Phoenix (who later changed her name to Heart) published an open letter in the Los Angeles Times on her son's life and death. It read, in part:

{{blockquote|His friends, co-workers and the rest of our family know that River was not a regular drug user. He lived at home in Florida with us and was almost never a part of the "club scene" in Los Angeles. He had just arrived in L.A. from the pristine beauty and quietness of Utah where he was filming for six weeks. We feel that the excitement and energy of the Halloween nightclub and party scene were way beyond his usual experience and control. How many other beautiful young souls, who remain anonymous to us, have died by using drugs recreationally? It is my prayer that River's leaving in this way will focus the attention of the world on how painfully the spirits of his generation are being worn down.

River made such a big impression during his life on Earth. He found his voice and found his place. And even River, who had the whole world at his fingertips to listen, felt deep frustration that no one heard. What is it going to take? Chernobyl wasn't enough. Exxon Valdez wasn't enough. A bloody war over oil wasn't enough. If River's passing opens our global heart, then I say, thanks dear, beloved son, for yet another gift to all of us.{{cite news|title=A Mother's Note on Her Son's Life and Death|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-24-ca-60381-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 4, 1993 |access-date=April 19, 2022}}}}

Before his death, Phoenix's image—one he bemoaned in interviews—had been of a clean and attractive role model. Phoenix spoke often of his firm opposition to all forms of oppression and affirmatively espoused beliefs in compassion that reach across narrow boundaries including racial, national, and species. For example, the actor declined a lucrative advertising gig that would have required him to wear the skin of a tortured cow which led his peers to endorse Phoenix's image as a courageous role model.{{cite news| title=River Phoenix Ranks Acting Below Animal Rights and Music| newspaper=The New York Times| date=January 5, 1989| first=Aljean| last=Harmetz| quote=His attitudes and ethics obviously echo the 60's sensibilities of his parents, but it was the eight-year-old River who persuaded his parents to give up milk and eggs. The chickens that lay eggs are so frustrated, he said. There's no sunlight in egg farms. It's like a concentration camp. Just the squealing of thousands of birds.| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/05/movies/river-phoenix-ranks-acting-below-animal-rights-and-music.html}} Phoenix's compassion for all beings was evident, and he was widely regarded "as the model of good health, clean living, and professional dedication—a cleaned-up '90s James Dean. He was known as a vegan, or ultra-vegetarian, who would not eat meat or dairy products or wear leather."{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=Carla |last2=Simon |first2=Richard |date=November 1, 1993 |title=River Phoenix Collapses, Dies; Actor Was 23 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |quote=Phoenix was described as the model of good health, clean living, and professional dedication—a cleaned-up '90s James Dean. He was known as a vegan, or ultra-vegetarian, who would not eat meat or dairy products or wear leather.}} His death was unexpected and elicited widespread media coverage.{{cite news| title=Autopsy Shatters Phoenix's Image| newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times| date=November 14, 1993| first=Christine| last=Spolar| quote=The image of actor River Phoenix as a quiet, clean-cut member of Hollywood's youth fraternity has been shattered by autopsy results that showed he died from a mix of cocaine and heroin.| url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4216413198EF0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D}}{{dead link|date=September 2023}} Phoenix was described by one writer as "the vegan James Dean", and comparisons were made regarding the youth and sudden deaths of both actors.{{cite news|first=Rose |last=Rouse |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/where-were-you-when-river-phoenix-died-the-vegan-james-dean-is-being-mourned-by-teenagers-from-ilkley-to-bristol-says-rose-rouse-1502720.html |title=Where were you when River Phoenix died?: The vegan James Dean is being mourned by teenagers from Ilkley to Bristol | work=The Independent |date=November 7, 1993 |access-date=December 16, 2011 |location=London}}

Actors who have credited Phoenix as a major influence as well as paving the way for them include Leonardo DiCaprio,{{Cite web |last=Hainey |first=Michael |date=2019-05-21 |title=Three Kings: Quentin, Brad, and Leo Take You Inside 'Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood' |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a27458589/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-leonardo-dicaprio-brad-pitt-quentin-tarantino-interview/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}} Jared Leto{{Cite news |last=Edwards |first=Gavin |date=October 31, 2013 |title=What We Lost When We Lost River Phoenix |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-77981 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}} and James Franco.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Mike |date=October 30, 2015 |title=James Franco Opens Up About His Bad Boy Days as a Graffiti-Spraying Cologne Thief |url=https://people.com/movies/james-franco-on-getting-in-trouble-in-high-school-for-graffiti-stealing-cologne/ |access-date=April 19, 2022 |website=People}}{{cite web|url=https://www.laweekly.com/how-river-phoenix-inspired-a-generation/|title=How River Phoenix Inspired a Generation|first=Patrick Range|last=McDonald|date=October 30, 2013 |website=LA Weekly|access-date=April 19, 2022}} As teenagers, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck used "RiverP," in homage to Phoenix, as the password to the bank account they shared.{{Cite web |last=Topel |first=Fred |date=2020-10-13 |title=Matt Damon Says He And Ben Affleck Almost Got Cast In This Classic '80s Movie |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/matt-damon-says-he-and-ben-affleck-almost-got-cast-in-this-classic-80s-movie.html/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet |language=en-US}} During his acceptance speech for Best Actor at the 92nd Academy Awards, Joaquin Phoenix honored his brother by stating "When he was 17, my brother [River] wrote this lyric. He said: 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow.{{' "}}{{cite news |title=Joaquin Phoenix's Oscars speech in full: 'We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/feb/10/joaquin-phoenixs-oscars-speech-in-full |date=February 10, 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |department=Guardian Film |access-date=December 5, 2020}} Joaquin and partner Rooney Mara named their son, River, after him.{{cite news |title=Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara name their baby son River |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/28/joaquin-phoenix-rooney-mara-name-baby-son-river-brother-river-phoenix |date=September 28, 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |department=Guardian Film |access-date=December 5, 2020}}

Phoenix has been ranked on a number of lists recognizing his talent and career. He was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in "John Willis' Screen World" (2004). Phoenix was voted at No. 64 on a "Greatest Movie Stars of All Time" poll by Channel 4 television in the UK. The poll was made up wholly of votes from prominent figures of the acting and directing communities. He was ranked No. 86 in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in 1997.

Phoenix's status as a teen idol and promising young actor, and his subsequent premature death, made him a frequent subject in popular culture media. He first gained references in music with Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento writing the song "River Phoenix: Letter to a Young Actor" about him after having seen Phoenix in The Mosquito Coast (1986). The song appears on the 1989 release Miltons.{{cite web |last=Lannett |first=John |date=June 8, 1990 |title=Rain Forests Come First With Singer |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1990-06-08-9001120617-story.html |access-date=April 19, 2022 |work=Sun Sentinel}}

Gus Van Sant, with whom Phoenix worked in the film My Own Private Idaho, dedicated his 1993 movie Even Cowgirls Get the Blues as well as his 1997 novel Pink to him. Experimental Santa Cruz filmmaker Cam Archer also produced a documentary called Drowning River Phoenix as part of his American Fame series.{{cite web|url=http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/archive/12728382.html |title=Film Guide Archive | American Fame Pt. 1: Drowning River Phoenix |publisher=TribecaFilm.com |date=March 29, 2010 |access-date=December 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810042905/http://www.tribecafilm.com/filmguide/archive/12728382.html |archive-date=August 10, 2011 }}

Natalie Merchant, singer from 10,000 Maniacs, wrote and sang about the media's immediate and critical effect on culture and cultural icons such as River Phoenix. In "River", a 1995 song from Tigerlily, Merchant defends River Phoenix as she castigates the media for systematically dissecting the child actor after his death.{{cite web | url=https://entertainment.inquirer.net/196542/a-more-relaxed-natalie-merchant-fondly-revisits-tigerlily | title=A more relaxed Natalie Merchant fondly revisits 'Tigerlily' | date=June 24, 2016 }}

Phoenix was the subject of a controversial song by Australian group TISM titled "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River". The single originally featured a mock-up of Phoenix's tombstone as its cover art in 1995. The chorus features the line, "I'm on the drug that killed River Phoenix."{{cite news|last1=Dwyer|first1=Michael|title=The phantom menace|url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/the-phantom-menace-20040702-gdy5ls.html|access-date=April 19, 2022|work=The Age|date=July 2, 2004|location=Melbourne}}

A lesser-known reference to River Phoenix was Final Fantasy VIII{{'s}} main protagonist Squall Leonhart. Tetsuya Nomura, the lead character designer for the game, stated he modeled Squall on Phoenix's visage during development and even gave Squall the same birthdate.{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/22/the-bouncer-team-talks-about-its-mysterious-game |title=The Bouncer Team Talks About Its Mysterious Game |website=IGN |date=September 21, 2000 | last=Staff |access-date=June 24, 2009}} The scene of Phoenix's death also merits several mentions in William Gibson's book Spook Country.{{Cite news |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Itzkoff |date=August 26, 2007 |title=Spook Country - William Gibson - Books - Review |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/books/review/Itzkoff4-t.html |access-date=May 30, 2019 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}

Rapper Tyler, the Creator references Phoenix in his 2017's Flower Boy, perceived by some critics as a kind of coming out album.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/07/tyler-the-creator-flower-boy-coming-out-queerness/534486/|title=The Classic Queer Paradox of Tyler, the Creator |magazine=The Atlantic |date=July 21, 2017 | first=Spencer | last=Kornhaber |access-date=December 29, 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/21/tyler-the-creator-flower-boy-review|title=Tyler, the Creator: Flower Boy review – closet door opens to gawky gorgeousness |work=The Guardian |date=July 17, 2017 | first=Spencer | last=Kornhaber |access-date=December 29, 2017}}

With the song Halloween on the album Storm Hymnal: Gems from the Vault, the band Grant Lee Buffalo paid homage to River Phoenix. The lyrics in the refrain are: You were like my own James Byron Dean/ Private Idaho was my East of Eden/ Hit me like a stone when I heard you passed/ On Halloween.

Phoenix's acting, music and 'manifesto' was cited by English author Guy Mankowski as having a large influence on his 2020 novel "Dead Rock Stars".{{cite web |last=Mankowski |first=Guy |date=September 20, 2020 |title=Six Of The Best: Guy Mankowski |url=https://narcmagazine.com/six-of-the-best-guy-mankowski/ |access-date=January 24, 2022 |work=Narc Magazine}}

Kurt Cobain dedicated Nirvina's cover of "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam" to River Phoenix in their MTV Unplugged concert.

• List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• List of actors with Academy Award nominations
• List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees
• List of animal rights advocates
• List of vegans

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book|title=Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind|first=Gavin |last=Edwards |date=October 22, 2013 |publisher=HarperCollins |author-link=Gavin Edwards (writer)|isbn= 978-0062273154}}
• {{Cite book|title=Lost in Hollywood: The Fast Times and Short Life of River Phoenix |first=John |last=Glatt |year=1995 |publisher=D.I. Fine |author-link=John Glatt|isbn=1-55611-440-0}}
• Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996.
• {{Cite book|title=In Search of River Phoenix: the Truth Behind the Myth |first=Barry C. |last=Lawrence |year=2004 |publisher=WORDSWORTH Pub. |isbn=0-9672491-9-8}}
• {{Cite book|title=River Phoenix: a short life |first=Brian J. |last=Robb |year=1995 |publisher=Harper Perennial |isbn=0-06-095132-X}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{IMDb name|203}}
• {{TCMDb name|id=152018%7C0|name=River Phoenix}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for River Phoenix

|list =

{{IndependentSpiritBestMaleLead 1985–1999}}

{{National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor}}

{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor}}

{{Volpi Cup for Best Actor}}

{{Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film}}

}}

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River

Category:Rape of males

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