The Tragic Life of River Phoenix
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VOICE OVER: Phoebe de Jeu
WRITTEN BY: Nathan Sharp
He rose from the ashes of a troubled childhood only to burn out before his time. For this video, we're looking at the tragic life of child actor River Phoenix. Brought up in a religious cult, River would go on to become one of the most successful child actors of his time only to have his life cut tragically short at the age of 23.
Script Written by Nathan Sharp
The Tragic Life of River Phoenix
He rose from the ashes of a troubled childhood - only to burn out before his time. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the tragic life of River Phoenix.
Born “River Jude Bottom”, River entered this world in a log cabin in Oregon. His hippy parents named him after an inspirational river in Hermann Hesse’s philosophical novel “Siddhartha”. “Jude” came from the Beatles song. Four siblings would follow, each with their own unique name - Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer. But by all accounts, their upbringing was extremely difficult.
When River was just two years old, his parents joined the Children of God. The Children of God were a group of young nomads and hippies who refused to adhere to the capitalist system, calling those who did “systemites.” The adults didn’t work, and the children didn’t attend school. This included River and his siblings. He told the Chicago Tribune, “I would sing at jails with my sister and stand on street corners passing out literature containing uplifting messages.” He would also play his guitar on the streets as a way to make small amounts of money. Every little bit helped.
In other words, River and his family were in a religious cult. Like a lot of cults at the time, they lived in communes and were adamant that the end was nigh. The cult gained notoriety for their highly controversial sexual practices, including allegations of child sexual abuse. The allegations included the cult’s founder, David Brandt Berg, who was accused of abusing his own daughters and granddaughters.
It was also well known for a practice called “flirty fishing.” Flirty fishing was when the female members of the group would go out into the public and persuade men to join the cult by offering their bodies. Berg’s daughter later referred to it as “religious prostitution.” And it was this practice that persuaded River’s parents to leave the cult. River didn’t speak much about his time in the Children of God, although he once said that they were “disgusting”.
Leaving the cult was certainly the right moral and spiritual decision to make - but a challenging financial one. After literally sneaking out of the cult, the family found themselves poor and homeless in Caracas, Venezuela, which is where they’d been stationed. River’s parents had also experienced intense “pain and loneliness” following their departure from the once welcoming cult. They lived in a beach hut for a couple of months before hitching a ride to Florida on a commercial freighter. It was around this time that the family decided to change their surname to Phoenix, a proud metaphor for their prolonged struggles and hopes for the future - a symbolic rising from the ashes.
And it seemed to work, because life did get better back in the States. River remembers rich children giving them their old clothes, and he and his sister began winning local talent contests. Word of their accomplishments eventually made the papers, and these papers made their way to Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. They contacted the Phoenix family and told them to drop by sometime. So Phoenix’s parents threw them all into a station wagon and made their way out to Hollywood.
In Los Angeles, River’s mother landed a job at NBC. Meanwhile, River and Joaquin began performing on the streets for spare change, where they caught the attention of acting agent Iris Burton. Burton was enamored with the children and their talents and signed them on as clients. River soon landed work in commercials and other small-time gigs, including the short-lived CBS musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and numerous made-for-TV movies.
His big break came in 1986, when he was cast in the critically acclaimed “Stand by Me.” River’s co-star Wil Wheaton attributes the movie’s success to the casting and grew attached to River throughout the filming process, calling him, “One of the kindest people I’d ever been around”.
The role helped make River a star, and it seemed like his metaphorical surname had finally proved decisive. He soon became a well-known activist for animal rights and environmental awareness. But River was never happy in his fame. After his death, River’s mother told Esquire, “[He became] more and more uncomfortable being the poster boy for all good things. He often said he wished he could just be anonymous. But he never was”.
His financial success also proved to be a burden, and he began taking on a more paternal role in the family. His father had struggled with alcoholism, and with River being the eldest and most successful child, he felt it was his duty to provide for his family. His girlfriend, fellow actor Samantha Mathis, recounted to The Guardian something that River had once said to her. In their last year together, River told her, “I just have to make one more movie to put away enough money so my youngest sister can go to college”. It’s a statement that perfectly captures River’s generosity and maturity.
Unfortunately, River would pass away in the early morning of October 31, 1993, at just 23 years old. While there are different accounts of what happened, what we do know is that River died from a dangerous concoction of cocaine and heroin - often called a speedball. The autopsy report claims that there were no drugs in his nasal passages or needle tracks on his body, and the conclusion seemed to be that River had swallowed the concoction as a drink. It also claims that he had 8x the lethal dosage in his bloodstream.
This aligns with stories concerning the night in question. River had gone to The Viper Room, a Hollywood club owned by Johnny Depp, with Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. Director William Richert claims that Samantha Mathis told him that Frusciante gave River a cup and told him to drink it, promising that he’d “feel fabulous”. It’s possible that the content was meant to be sipped and shared; but told to “drink it”, River downed the whole cup. After doing so, he shook and fell down, and was later seen stumbling around the bar. Musician Bob Forrest recalls that River approached him in the bar, tapped him on the shoulder, and told him that he was overdosing.
Frusciante reportedly secluded himself following River’s death, frightened that he’d be arrested. River’s father told a reporter that if he ever saw Frusciante, he’d kill him. However, River’s mother later announced that the family was not pressing charges.
In a 2018 interview with The Guardian however, Mathis said that she was in the bathroom when River took the fatal dose. In her words, “I have my suspicions about what was going on, but I didn’t see anything.” When she returned from the bathroom, she saw River in a fight with another patron. They were both kicked out by a bouncer, and River began convulsing.
Whatever happened that night, the result was the same: River overdosed, and his family and girlfriend were there to see it. His brother Joaquin Phoenix called 911 while his sister Rain tried to resuscitate him. He was still alive when the ambulance arrived, but was later pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
It was a horribly tragic way for River to go, and capped a life full of difficulties. He’s remembered today as a beautiful soul who fought to rise above misfortune, and who was taken from us far too soon.
The Tragic Life of River Phoenix
He rose from the ashes of a troubled childhood - only to burn out before his time. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the tragic life of River Phoenix.
Born “River Jude Bottom”, River entered this world in a log cabin in Oregon. His hippy parents named him after an inspirational river in Hermann Hesse’s philosophical novel “Siddhartha”. “Jude” came from the Beatles song. Four siblings would follow, each with their own unique name - Rain, Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer. But by all accounts, their upbringing was extremely difficult.
When River was just two years old, his parents joined the Children of God. The Children of God were a group of young nomads and hippies who refused to adhere to the capitalist system, calling those who did “systemites.” The adults didn’t work, and the children didn’t attend school. This included River and his siblings. He told the Chicago Tribune, “I would sing at jails with my sister and stand on street corners passing out literature containing uplifting messages.” He would also play his guitar on the streets as a way to make small amounts of money. Every little bit helped.
In other words, River and his family were in a religious cult. Like a lot of cults at the time, they lived in communes and were adamant that the end was nigh. The cult gained notoriety for their highly controversial sexual practices, including allegations of child sexual abuse. The allegations included the cult’s founder, David Brandt Berg, who was accused of abusing his own daughters and granddaughters.
It was also well known for a practice called “flirty fishing.” Flirty fishing was when the female members of the group would go out into the public and persuade men to join the cult by offering their bodies. Berg’s daughter later referred to it as “religious prostitution.” And it was this practice that persuaded River’s parents to leave the cult. River didn’t speak much about his time in the Children of God, although he once said that they were “disgusting”.
Leaving the cult was certainly the right moral and spiritual decision to make - but a challenging financial one. After literally sneaking out of the cult, the family found themselves poor and homeless in Caracas, Venezuela, which is where they’d been stationed. River’s parents had also experienced intense “pain and loneliness” following their departure from the once welcoming cult. They lived in a beach hut for a couple of months before hitching a ride to Florida on a commercial freighter. It was around this time that the family decided to change their surname to Phoenix, a proud metaphor for their prolonged struggles and hopes for the future - a symbolic rising from the ashes.
And it seemed to work, because life did get better back in the States. River remembers rich children giving them their old clothes, and he and his sister began winning local talent contests. Word of their accomplishments eventually made the papers, and these papers made their way to Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. They contacted the Phoenix family and told them to drop by sometime. So Phoenix’s parents threw them all into a station wagon and made their way out to Hollywood.
In Los Angeles, River’s mother landed a job at NBC. Meanwhile, River and Joaquin began performing on the streets for spare change, where they caught the attention of acting agent Iris Burton. Burton was enamored with the children and their talents and signed them on as clients. River soon landed work in commercials and other small-time gigs, including the short-lived CBS musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and numerous made-for-TV movies.
His big break came in 1986, when he was cast in the critically acclaimed “Stand by Me.” River’s co-star Wil Wheaton attributes the movie’s success to the casting and grew attached to River throughout the filming process, calling him, “One of the kindest people I’d ever been around”.
The role helped make River a star, and it seemed like his metaphorical surname had finally proved decisive. He soon became a well-known activist for animal rights and environmental awareness. But River was never happy in his fame. After his death, River’s mother told Esquire, “[He became] more and more uncomfortable being the poster boy for all good things. He often said he wished he could just be anonymous. But he never was”.
His financial success also proved to be a burden, and he began taking on a more paternal role in the family. His father had struggled with alcoholism, and with River being the eldest and most successful child, he felt it was his duty to provide for his family. His girlfriend, fellow actor Samantha Mathis, recounted to The Guardian something that River had once said to her. In their last year together, River told her, “I just have to make one more movie to put away enough money so my youngest sister can go to college”. It’s a statement that perfectly captures River’s generosity and maturity.
Unfortunately, River would pass away in the early morning of October 31, 1993, at just 23 years old. While there are different accounts of what happened, what we do know is that River died from a dangerous concoction of cocaine and heroin - often called a speedball. The autopsy report claims that there were no drugs in his nasal passages or needle tracks on his body, and the conclusion seemed to be that River had swallowed the concoction as a drink. It also claims that he had 8x the lethal dosage in his bloodstream.
This aligns with stories concerning the night in question. River had gone to The Viper Room, a Hollywood club owned by Johnny Depp, with Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. Director William Richert claims that Samantha Mathis told him that Frusciante gave River a cup and told him to drink it, promising that he’d “feel fabulous”. It’s possible that the content was meant to be sipped and shared; but told to “drink it”, River downed the whole cup. After doing so, he shook and fell down, and was later seen stumbling around the bar. Musician Bob Forrest recalls that River approached him in the bar, tapped him on the shoulder, and told him that he was overdosing.
Frusciante reportedly secluded himself following River’s death, frightened that he’d be arrested. River’s father told a reporter that if he ever saw Frusciante, he’d kill him. However, River’s mother later announced that the family was not pressing charges.
In a 2018 interview with The Guardian however, Mathis said that she was in the bathroom when River took the fatal dose. In her words, “I have my suspicions about what was going on, but I didn’t see anything.” When she returned from the bathroom, she saw River in a fight with another patron. They were both kicked out by a bouncer, and River began convulsing.
Whatever happened that night, the result was the same: River overdosed, and his family and girlfriend were there to see it. His brother Joaquin Phoenix called 911 while his sister Rain tried to resuscitate him. He was still alive when the ambulance arrived, but was later pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
It was a horribly tragic way for River to go, and capped a life full of difficulties. He’s remembered today as a beautiful soul who fought to rise above misfortune, and who was taken from us far too soon.
