The Best Actors Can Still Be Easily Forgotten: 25 Years After the Death of River Phoenix
It’s been 25 years since River Phoenix died in the early hours of Halloween Day in 1993. It dawned on me while I was at the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival, which is just a couple blocks away from the Viper Room club where River died. His death was caused by an accidental drug overdose, a speedball of heroin and cocaine. In the days since, I have seen a few media outlets mention the anniversary of his death. Overall though, there hasn’t been much made of it. Sadly, the same could be said for the body of work he made during his all too brief life.
When he died I had assumed River would take on a mythic stature similar to that of James Dean. Like Dean, he was an amazingly gifted actor who died in his 20s when he was at the height of his fame. Phoenix was young, handsome, outspoken and did not easily fit into the traditional Hollywood movie star mold. An environmentalist and vegan long before either was cool or remotely mainstream. He had an Oscar nomination for “Running On Empty” (at age 19) and the coming of age film that made him famous, “Stand By Me”, was heralded to be a classic of the genre.
So what happened? Though there was an outpouring of grief at the time, Phoenix’s death seemed to have been quickly overshadowed by Kurt Cobain’s suicide barely six months later. Phoenix has been grieved, but not exalted. The other young stars of his era, Leo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves, went on to larger careers, A-list status and middle age. Yet River is forever 23 years old, his face frozen eternally youthful. It is in some ways hard to imagine, had he lived, what films he would have made by the time he reached middle age. It is also completely unnecessary.
River was only slightly older than me. Most people of my generation are aware of who River was and the seminal coming of age film that made him famous, “Stand By Me”. But his films seem to have largely disappeared from the cultural radar. In the days since the anniversary, I’ve asked several Millenials and Gen Z aged people if they were aware of who River Phoenix was. “He’s Joaquin’s brother” was a common response, referring to the equally gifted actor Joaquin Phoenix. Surprisingly, though some acknowledged having seen “Stand By Me” they did not know who River was at all.
River made “Stand By Me” when he was just 16 years old. Though he looks years younger in the film, it is striking how his performance carries the depth of a performer many years older. I was 15 when I saw the film and the four actors that star in it (played by Phoenix, Will Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell) reminded me so much of myself and my group of friends at that age that I instantly loved it. It is a quality that resonated with many of the people who have seen the film. But it is the quiet intensity and soulfulness of River’s performance that truly elevates the film.
He looked the part of the perfect teen idol: blond, pretty, with a ski-jump nose that the camera loved. It was easy to underestimate his talent based solely on his appearance. His “Running On Empty” costar Judd Hirsch noted “When I first saw him, I thought, ‘This is another blond, beautiful kid,’ “ Hirsch says. “But I quickly realized this was a very, very inside person. River wasn’t just going to give something away. He was running very deep.”
He rarely smiled in his films or in photographs or during interviews. It seemed less because he was playing the sullen young movie star but rather from a heavier weight he seemed to carry. How many 23-year-olds were buying up parts of the Brazilian rain forest so that it wouldn’t be chopped down and developed? River once ran out of a restaurant crying because his then-girlfriend, actress Martha Plimpton, ordered seafood. Ethan Hawke, his costar in the film “Explorers” was in awe of River’s talent but could sense his fragility. He said “I worried for him. It was such a brilliant light, but it seemed so delicate.”
His backstory is fairly well known. The eldest of five children of hippie parents who were members of the Children of God religious movement, a journey that took them from Florida to Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. River said that he had been sexually abused in the group at the age of four. His family left and settled in Los Angeles, his parents quickly putting the children to work to earn a living. By the age of ten, he had his first commercial, which led to recurring roles on tv and eventually his breakthrough role in “Stand By Me”.
Some celebrities become even more famous in death than they were in life and that is the fate that I thought might befall River Phoenix. But his films are not in heavy rotation on HBO or Turner Classic Movies, which would drive an enduring legacy for him. Though he had some good roles, he never appeared in a classic of “Citizen Kane” proportions or was a particular A-List Director’s darling the way DiCaprio would go on to become Martin Scorsese’s. He never had a blockbuster or superhero film to cement his status.
Though the Viper Room still attracts numerous tourists who linger outside to see the spot where River died, they did not have any plans to commemorate his passing this year. The Viper Room’s General Manager Tommy Black did note that he feels “It’s beautifully sad” that River’s fans still leave candles and notes. Samantha Mathis, his girlfriend for the last year of his life and who was with him the night he died, was recently asked about him. “I think if River was still here, I think he’d be acting, directing, saving the environment, just living and hanging out,” she said. “Oh gosh, wouldn’t that be nice?”
