Talk:River Phoenix

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Contents

[edit] Word Choice

Does this article suggest that only the very poor can't afford to buy brand new cars? 131.111.250.45 16:03, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I agree...so, you're living in abject poverty if your car is secondhand? Perhaps that line should be removed, simply because it completely trivialises the idea of poverty. Then again, if their view of poverty was that they couldn't afford a new car, that says something about them. -- Dandelions 23:18, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

no. that article isn't even about only the "very poor" can't afford to buy brand new cars. the article about the life of river phoenix. why would they even ask that sort of question?

Everyone views poverty differently. Some people have enough money for new cars but aren't interested and buy other things. Many of my Uni lecturers and teachers for example live in the top areas of my state in Australia but drive second hand cars. My family own some new cars but live in a suburb that isn't considered "top". Also I go to Uni and work at the same time, but I don't have a car or a laptop or anything. So I suppose its how you yourself view it all.

[edit] Fan

i think that river jude phoenix's death was a critical, horrible thing to hear about.i was only 7 when i heard about his death. i love all of his movies.my mom bought me all of his movies ever since he died. i have posters of him all over my walls.rest in peace, river jude phoenix. aug 23,1970-oct 31,1993 a.k.a. rio or riv.

[edit] Sexuality Claims

What evidence is there that he was gay/bisexual?

Brian J. Robb's book "River Phoenix: A Short Life". Also I believe Gus Van Sant made a comment about Phoenix's sexuality during an interview.

-- SatyrTN (talk / contribs) 19:33, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Final 24

I find it unbelievable that some of you in here deem it apporpriate to delete stuff you don't want to see in here and dismiss it as nonsense! I went to great lengths to put in stuff about his death from a recent "Final 24" episode on Discovery Channel and you just deleted ALL OF IT and accuse ME of vandalism!I wonder who the vandalist is in here! Most of the info in here is not cited as it is hard to determine the exact source. The same goes for my source: I could not cite "Final 24" as it has yet to appear on the imdb ( I submitted the title and it's still being checked) Yes, River did use drugs for years, even before My Own Private Idaho, just like his friend Matt Ebert said on the documentary! His abuse deteriorated during MOPI where he would swallow all sorts of pills, as Ebert said. And yes, it is true that River got snubbed by Flea right before their performance in the Viper Room and that's what drove him to the bathroom to ingest a speedball. That's what the investigating LIEUTENANT said on the docu! And yes, he had an eightfold cocaine overdose, as the coroner said on the docu, too! And yes, Judy Davis was hard to work with and River was deeply hurt by her behavior, as the director George Sluizer said on the docu! So either all these people are lying or you are just refusing to accept my input. So now I wonder why you deemed it appropriate to delete my info and leave all the uncited stuff in there. Is it because one of you in here prefers to control all the input? I stand by what I wrote in there. Is the info I submitted so hard to believe or outrageous that it doesn't fit the whole picture? I suggest you watch the documentary yourself!

Sliponshoe 17:13, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
I read your comments and was also curious why people would take out your contributions to the article if they were sourced to a documentary. Then I went on YouTube and watched "Final 24" on River Phoenix and found it very suspect. It makes many claims in ominous voiceover with no sources and has interviews with people who may or may not have been close to River. I think reverting those statements were the correct thing to do. FilmFemme 21:02, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
Well, I agree partly with you. But you have to remember that the actual coroner and the investigating police detective were making those statements. To me, they are very credible sources. And I'd find it hard to believe that they were fraudsters or liars. Besides, what outrageous claims did they make anyway? That River was snubbed by Flea or that River died of an eightfold cocaine overdose? To me, the sources were very credible and none of the interviewees, incl. the guy who had worked with River on "Idaho" appeared to be making false or outrageous claims or tried to dump on River. And I was definitely not trying to spam this article. I'd never ever smear River. He's one of my idols and I have far too much respect for his memory and legacy. Sliponshoe (talk) 03:38, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

"was one of the most promising movie actors of his generation." seems very biased. Not knowing anything about him i'm not sure haw to fix it. I'm adding it to NPOV tho.

He was listed in John Willis' Screen World as a "Promising New Actor of 1986" (one of twelve). I think that would qualify the statement in the article, though it should probably be actually mentioned.

[edit] Death and age

Died of Speedball, as did John Belushi, outside The Viper Room; see RiverPhoenix.org for details. Alf melmac 09:15, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

According to "Classic Cases in Medical Ethics" by Gregory Pence, Phoenix died by "mixing barbiturates, alcohol, and benzodiazapines," not by mixing cocaine and heroin.

Born Aug 23 1970: age 0

Therefore this birthdays on each August 23rd are;
'71=1, '72=2, '73=3, '74=4, '75=5, '76=6, '77=7, '78=8, '79=9, '80=10,
'81=11, '82=12, '83=13, '84=14, '85=15, '86=16, '87=17, '88=18, '89=19, '90=20,
'91=21, '92=22, '93=23
he died in October of '93 which makes 23 at the time of his death. --Alf melmac 13:09, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Many fail to mention that his dear friend, regarded only as Stephani from Philadelphia, was the person to make the original 911 call and that he died in her's, among others arms. She refuses interviews and to this day, January 6, 1999, still cannot comment on the events that transpired that night. I feel she does not want any celebrity from this and just wants to contunie her life. Her only mention is on the E! True Hollywood Story about River as the initial 911 caller and being employed at the Viper Room from January 1992 to Nov. 1993 stating she could not be there another minute due to the enormity of what her dear friend River whent through. One quote from Stephani was found however,"I do not want River to be forgotten or to be remembered for what happened on Halloween 1993, my wish is for him to be remembered for his talent and generosity to those he was close too." This quote is taken from a People Magazine article that emereged after River's death. - Richard Johnson, New York Post, Page Six

[edit] Rumour

An unconfirmed rumor claims that actress Christina Applegate "stood there and watched."

If it's an unconfirmed rumour why is it in the article? 207.6.31.119 19:26, 19 November 2005 (UTC)


Married With Children star Christina Applegate was at the club that night and witnessed the seizures, which she later reenacted at an anti-drug dance piece.

[edit] Melissa Etheridge

Does anyone know which song she apparently wrote about River? I'm fairly sure it was Natalie Merchant instead (with, sensibly enough, River), and will be editing that. If people know that Etheridge did indeed write a song about him, feel free to add her back in, but I've turned up nothing on Google. -- Dandelions 23:06, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Paternal Parentage Unconfirmed Rumor & Other Uncomfirmed Rumors

The rumors on the internet are that the father of the Phoenix clan might not be River's father genetically. The cults which the parents were in were very much into orgies, and also, pedophilia.

There are rumors on the internet that River was raped as a child by adults in the COG, and it contributed to his mental imbalances, which also led to his drug addictions.

That's "paternity" unconfirmed. One's paternity is who one's father was. Paternal Parentage is grammatically correct but redundant. Kasreyn 00:33, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Needs To Be Re-edited or Re-written

Someone re-edited this article to include unverifiable rumors of R. Phoenix parenting a child in 1988. The whole document has been cut and pasted together without continuance.

Much of this article is un-cited. I AM NOT SURE I BELIEVE THIS

I dont believe this is true that he died of a speedball. And I dont believe he injected. I have read that he snorted the heroin, and had meth in his system. I dont think he injected.

Oh.... snorting the Heroin is much better isn;t it. It still managed to kill him. What I don;t get is... HE WAS A HEALTH NUT. He was a Vegan and he had all these views on holistic medicine but apparently that goes out the window when one wants a heroine high. What a hypocrit.

Everyone lives in a glasshouse and everyone makes mistakes, his was fatal.

..eh yes. Anyway, this article as it is now suggests the overdose came out of nowhere. I really don't know whether this is true. The article should make explicit what his drug habits were before the overdose: many?, none?, some?, unknown?, maybe documented controversy? Pukkie 21:54, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
..His family never made a public announcement to drug addiction. There is the letter his mother wrote to the LA Times stating he was not a regular user and there seems to be a statement from then girlfriend that he had been clean for 3 months before he died. Anthony Kiedis did make a statement in his book Scar Tissue that River Phoenix had been drinking heavily and using since they had been introduced.

(The autopsy also revealed traces of cough syrup, crystal meth and cannabis in his blood.) Where in his autopsy does it specify what drugs he died of, can anyone verify that the autopsy report specified chemical ingestion? [2] and [3] show only acute multiple drug ingestion. As for ephedrine it is found in cough syrup, crystal meth, and some vitamin supplements.

[edit] Musical References

The song "Anyone Can Play Guitar" on Radiohead's album Pablo Honey is about River Phoenix. Deleted Thom York wrote it concerning reading Morrison's lyrics as poetry. [4]

The band Snow Patrol wrote the song "Run" about River. If it can be referenced somewhere add it back in. I've found nothing to confirm that the song had anything to do with Phoenix. --Elthearosa 23:05, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Upon hearing of Phoenix's death, the guitarist Throb from British band Primal Scream branded him a "lightweight". Where is the reference to this?

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Tributes and references in music and pop culture

  • Versus released an LP in 1994 titled The Stars are Insane. Track 4 is titled "River" and includes the following lines: "Last time I saw River, He was lying face down, he fell down face down. So please believe him when he says Ten bucks won’t last you a very long way."
  • Brazilian singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento wrote and recorded a song dedicated to him, "River Phoenix" (released in 1989, during the actor's lifetime)
  • In 1995, Australian alternative rock band TISM released a song named "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River," the main refrain of the chorus being "I'm on the drug, I'm on the drug, I'm on the drug that killed River Phoenix." One verse contains the rhyming couplets: 'I saw his body thrashing round, I saw his pulse rate going down, I saw him in convulsive throes, I said "I'll have one of those"'. The song came in at #9 in the Triple J Hottest 100 for that year, although it reputedly enraged members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
  • Natalie Merchant penned and recorded the song "River" for her 1995 CD Tigerlily. Young and strong Hollywood son/in the early morning light/this star fell down/on Sunset Boulevard
  • Subject of the Rufus Wainwright song "Matinee Idol".
  • R.E.M. dedicated their album Monster to him.
  • The pop punk band Fenix*TX was originally called Riverfenix, but the name was changed – at the behest of the Phoenix family – before the band became widely popular.
  • "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers indirectly mentions the actor: "There's a River born to be a giver/ will keep you warm won't make you shiver/ his heart is never gonna wither," [citation needed]
  • "Transcending" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers was written entirely about Phoenix.
  • British band Manic Street Preachers mentions River in their song "Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart" (from the album The Holy Bible, 1994) in the following line:"...I'm thinking right now of Hollywood tragedy; big mac; smack; Phoenix.R; please smile y'all..."
  • Grant Lee Buffalo's song "Halloween" is a homage to River Phoenix: "You're only 23, River/ And you're restless as the sea, River/ But but ya had a hold on me, oh River". And the chorus: "You were like my own James Byron Dean/ Private Idaho was my East of Eden/ Hit me like a stone when I heard you passed on Halloween"
  • Stereophonics' song "Chris Chambers" is a B-side of the Word Gets Around single "Traffic". The song is a tribute to River Phoenix and gets his name from the character Phoenix plays in his 1986 film Stand by Me "Night club, another scene, 31st it's Halloween, Slave to each new trend, Uptown junkies push again"
  • Post-industrial rocker Chris Connelly titled a song "The Early Nighters (for River Phoenix)" on his 1994 album, Shipwreck.
  • Belinda Carlisle wrote and sang the hit single "California", which began and ended with the words, 'I remember I was in the tanning salon/ When I heard that River Phoenix had gone.'
  • During three performances on November 13[1] and November 15, 1993[2] and on February 12, 1994,[3] Kurt Cobain of Nirvana dedicated the song "Jesus Don't Want Me For a Sunbeam" to River. Cobain also dedicated the same song to Phoenix (among other celebrities who died young) during Nirvana's one to last American shows in Seattle on January 7, 1994.[4]
  • Brooklyn band Nada Surf wrote a song entitled "River Phoenix" on their special demo album North 6th Street (1999); the song specifically references Phoenix's role in the Gus Van Sant film My Own Private Idaho
  • Queercore band Pansy Division references "River Phoenix wearing speedos" in their song "Smells Like Queer Spirit"
  • Dana Lyons, a Washington state folk musician, has recorded a tribute entitled "Song for River Phoenix (If I Had Known)."
  • John Frusciante wrote and dedicated the song "Smile from the streets you hold" to River Phoenix. The second part of the song was added after River's tragic death.
  • Musician Sam Phillips (singer) album Martinis & Bikinis is dedicated with "FOR RIVER" in reference to the actor.
  • Gus Van Sant's novel "Pink" is dedicated to him.
  • British rockers the Cult, refer to River Phoenix in "Sacred Life" from their album The Cult (1994): "River Phoenix was so young, don't you know your prince has gone".
  • Fuel repeatedly featured pictures of River in the music video for the song "Innocent".
  • The Loss of a Child song "Lost Like River" is a reference to River Phoenix.
  • Ellis Paul's song "River" off of the 1994 album Stories is about River Phoenix as evidence by the first verse.
  • Hollywood, a track on Jay-Z's album Kingdom Come, including the lines "Heroin's following Marilyn hopping over the edge. It's like Janis Joplin, River Phoenix, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Morrison all them ended by Hollywood".
  • Final Fantasy VIII character designer Tetsuya Nomura has stated that River Phoenix was the influence for Squall Leonhart; both share the same birthday and physical appearance.
  • The film Interview with the Vampire is dedicated to River Phoenix, who was originally cast as the interviewer, a role filled by Christian Slater.
  • Upon hearing of Phoenix's death, the guitarist Throb from British band Primal Scream branded him a "lightweight".

Interesting bit to add to Trivia: Gus Van Sant also dedicated the movie "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" to River. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.22.84.104 (talk) 01:28, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:River32.jpg

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[edit] Name

Ah ha ha ha... River Jude Phoenix... That's a crazy awesome name..

[edit] Contradiction

The article says "Phoenix died at the age of 23 from an accidental drug overdose of heroin and cocaine (speedball)" But then this is contradicted a sentence later saying "was offered Persian Brown (a powerful form of methamphetamine mixed with opiates, which is then snorted)". The truth needs to be found out and then the article edited accordingly

I agree completely, both are speedballs, but which is it? meth & "some opiate" or cocaine and heroin? 67.5.156.119 (talk) 04:07, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Though I applaud River's and his family's vegan-related activism, it has to be pointed out that early in his career River was a principal in a Red Lobster commercial. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.213.238.4 (talk) 00:18, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Grammar

This article was rife with poor grammar, vague pronouns, poor word choice, and incoherent narrative. After spending about an hour and a half correcting this, someone is "undoing" my edits. I would appreciate it if you would stop. It violates the spirit of Wikipedia. If you want to actually IMPROVE on my version: Fine with me. But please stop reverting to an earlier version that is clearly INFERIOR. Even if you wrote it. Best wishes for a happy Wiki experience. KarynN1 21:44, 22 August 2007 (UTC)Professor K

I agree that the revert was done in bad faith. In the future, please add your comments to the bottom of the talk page. María (críticame) 23:49, 22 August 2007 (UTC)