Twenty-five years ago, River Phoenix lay on the cold pavement of a Hollywood sidewalk, steps away from a famous nightclub, suffering from an overdose of heroin and cocaine. While a crowd of gawkers in Halloween costumes gathered around him and his younger brother Joaquin called 911, inside the nightclub—the Viper Room—Johnny Depp was onstage with his band P, playing a song about Hollywood celebrity. Spookily, it name-checked Phoenix: “I finally talked to Michael Stipe / But I didn't get to see his car / Him and River Phoenix / Were leaving on the road tomorrow.”
At 1:51 A.M. on October 31, 1993, River Phoenix was pronounced dead. He was just 23 years old. It was a tragedy for those who knew and loved him, and a shattering event for all the young fans who had hung posters of him on their walls, and for all the moviegoers who had been moved by his performances. It marked the end of a short but prolific career, encompassing 13 movies and one short-lived TV series. In life, River Phoenix was still figuring out what kind of movie star he wanted to be: pinup boy, hippie idol, scruffy activist?
