River Phoenix died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles on October 31, 1993 at the age of 23.
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Rain Phoenix and River Phoenix
Rain Phoenix keeps the memory of her brother River Phoenix alive on his 54th birthday.
Rain, 51, shared a series of photos of River, who died of a drug overdose in 1993 at the age of 23, to her Instagram on Friday, August 23, to celebrate the late actor’s birthday. The photo carousel also included a series of quotes dedicated to the Stand by Me Actor who was a rising star in the years before his death.
“Happy birthday, River 🩵,” she simply wrote as a caption to her post.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who was friends with River and was present when the actor collapsed outside The Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles – he accompanied River to the hospital – wrote in a comment on Rain’s post: “Happy birthday, beautiful.”
Related: Kiefer Sutherland shares River Phoenix Stand by Me Story that may have served as inspiration for the film title
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LR Summer Phoenix, River Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, John Lee Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Arlyn Phoenix at their home in Los Angeles, California, USA, circa 1986.
River was the eldest of the five Phoenix siblings – including Rain (51), Joaquin (49), Liberty (48) and Summer (45) – who as children travelled around the world with their parents as missionaries for the Children of God. After turning away from the religious movement, the family settled in California in the late 1970s, where River eventually started an acting career. He made his feature film debut in 1985 in Explorer and broke out the following year Stand by Methe film directed by Rob Reiner based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The body.
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River received an Oscar nomination in 1988 for his role in Running on reserve and appeared in 1989 as a young Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIn the years before Phoenix’s death, he also became friends with many Los Angeles-based musicians and actors, including Keanu Reeves and Johnny Depp – who was co-owner of the Viper Room at the time of Phoenix’s death.
Related topics: Michael J. Fox reflects on a kind act by River Phoenix 31 years later: “He was so nice to me”
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River Phoenix during a portrait photo session in 1988 in Los Angeles, California.
Rain and Joaquin were present at the time of River’s death on October 31, 1993. Joaquin called 911 while Rain attempted mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Weekly entertainment was reported at the time.
Rain, her siblings and her mother Heart Phoenix typically pay tribute to River on the anniversaries of his birthday and death. Last year, Heart, 79, shared a photo of River playing guitar on Instagram and wrote that his birth was “one of the most amazing days of my life.”
“Just like he tried to do with most people, River Jude embraced each of his siblings (who came through the same portal after him) with his humor, wisdom, authenticity, talent, compassion, vulnerability and undying love,” she wrote in a caption at the time. “I would say he was and still is our greatest teacher.”
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