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Quick Facts
- NAME: River Phoenix
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor
- BIRTH DATE: August 23, 1970
- DEATH DATE: October 31, 1993
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Madras, Oregon
- PLACE OF DEATH: West Hollywood, California
Best Known For
River Phoenix was an Academy Award nominee and promising young actor who died at the young age of 23 from a drug overdose.
Videos see all videos
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Johnny Depp - Mini Biography (5:22)
River Phoenix - Death of a Star
An inside look at the last twenty four hours of the life of River Phoenix.
Johnny Depp - Mini Biography
A short biography of Johnny Depp who started out as a TV heartthrob on "21 Jump Street" and moved onto eccentric, big screen roles in "Edward Scissorhands," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."
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Play NowRiver Phoenix. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:21, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698.
River Phoenix. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698 [Accessed 21 May 2013].
"River Phoenix." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 12:21 http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698.
"River Phoenix," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698 [accessed May 21, 2013].
"River Phoenix," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698 (accessed May 21, 2013).
River Phoenix [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698.
River Phoenix, http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698 (last visited May 21, 2013).
River Phoenix. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/river-phoenix-372698. Accessed May 21, 2013.
Tragic Death
For his last completed film, Phoenix starred with Alan Bates, Richard Harris, and Dermot Mulroney in director Sam Shepard’s western Silent Tongue (1994). He had started work on Dark Blood with Jonathan Pryce and Judy Davis when tragedy struck. During a break in filming, Phoenix went out to the Viper Room,
a popular nightclub that was partly owned by Johnny Depp, with his brother Joaquin, his sister Rain, and his girlfriend Samantha Mathis.
At some point during the evening, Phoenix took some drugs and became ill. He was helped outside and started to have seizures. His brother Joaquin called 911 while his sister Rain tried to help Phoenix who was lying on the sidewalk. When the ambulance arrived, paramedics worked on resuscitating the young actor at the scene. Their efforts failed, and they transported him to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was declared dead in the early hours of October 31.
Family, friends, and fans mourned the untimely passing of the talented young star. He was only 23 years old. After his death, Harrison Ford said “He once played my son, and I came to love him like a son, and was proud to watch grow into a man of such talent and integrity and compassion,” according to The New York Times. A memorial service was held for Phoenix and his ashes were scattered at the family’s Florida ranch.
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