River Phoenix was an American actor, activist, and aspiring musician whose short but tremendously successful career is plagued by sentiments of “what if” and “if only”. His tragic demise was surrounded by scandal and the circumstances in which he died almost eclipse the legacy he left behind.
While there is much debate around River Phoenix’s last words, it is largely believed that they were “No paparazzi, I want anonymity”. The famous movie star and vegan pacifist tragically died on the sidewalk of Johnny Depp’s club, The Viper Room, of acute combined drug intoxication.
The Hollywood heartthrob was just 23 years old when he died, and to this day his fans mourn the loss of the promising young actor. Let’s take a closer look at how he died, what he said before passing away, and how his incredible talent has shaped the careers of many actors who came after him.
River Phoenix’s Last Words
On Halloween in 1993, River Phoenix spent the night at The Viper Room with his brother Joaquin, his sister Rain, his girlfriend Samantha Mathis, and close friends Flea, Bob Forrest, John Frusciante, Gubby Haynes, Johnny Depp, and Al Jourgensen.
According to Bob Forrest, who describes the night of River’s death in great detail, the star was already high and “obviously wasted” when he arrived at the club. Immediately after his arrival, someone passed cocaine around the party.
Bob tells the tale of a pale River tapping him on the shoulder and saying to him “I don’t feel so good. I think I’m OD’ing.” before announcing that he felt better and disappeared back into the rowdy crowd. Little did he know, that would be his last encounter with his close friend.
Soon after, worried partygoers dragged River outside to the sidewalk while they waited for an ambulance to arrive. River, who noticed a reporter poised to capture the moment, reportedly said “No paparazzi, I want anonymity” before he began seizing.
Once the ambulance arrived, Flea accompanied a barely breathing River to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where, after multiple attempts to resuscitate him, he was officially pronounced dead at 1:51 am. In a revelation that shocked his family and friends, his autopsy revealed a deadly concoction of cocaine, morphine, valium, marijuana, and ephedrine.
River Phoenix’s Funeral
The day after his death, mourners flocked to The Viper Room and spraypainted graffiti messages on the walls, leaving flowers on the sidewalk, and the club turned into a makeshift shrine. Out of respect, Johnny Depp closed the club for the rest of the week following River’s death — a tradition which he continued until he sold his majority shares in the club in 2004.
On 4 November, 60 mourners congregated at the Milam Funeral Home. His was an open casket funeral, and the attendees were shocked by his appearance. The star’s usual long pale blond locks were gone and in their place was a neat mop of jet-black hair.
At his mother’s request, a lock of his hair lay beside him in the pale blue coffin. He was wearing a black T-shirt with the logo for his band, Aleka’s Attic, on it. Those at his funeral placed flowers, jewelry, and other memorabilia in his coffin.
Though the funeral was private, in a shocking act a reporter broke into the funeral home and took photos of his body lying in the coffin and sold them to the National Enquirer. The photographs are still circulating on the internet today.
River Phoenix’s Legacy
Though he died at a young age, River’s impact knows no bounds. Several famous actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jared Leto, and James Franco, credit River as one of their major inspirations.
River has been memorialized in many works by his fellow artists and entertainers. His close friends, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, wrote the song ‘Transcending’ about him and dedicated a whole verse of ‘Give it Away’ to River, another buddy of his — Michael Stipe from R.E.M. — dedicated ‘Monster’ to the star, and in ‘California’ Belinda Carlisle sings about where she was when she heard the news of River’s passing.
Natalie Merchant sings about the disrespectful coverage by the media — who she refers to as vultures — of the circumstances surrounding his demise. Dana Lyons’ ‘Song For River Phoenix (If I Had Known), Ellis Paul’s ‘River’, Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Matinee Idol’, and Grant Lee Buffalo’s ‘Halloween’ are more examples of songs inspired by the dark teen idol.
To this day, he is regarded as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars that was taken too young and his tragic tale is a cautionary lesson.
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