Rain and River Phoenix.Photo:Rain Phoenix/Instagram
Rain Phoenix/Instagram
River Phoenix’s sister is paying tribute to the late actor on what would have been his 53rd birthday.
One snapshot showed ablack-and-white photo of Riverholding his hands to his head, while another showed an undated throwback image of the two siblings during their childhood.
“Happy birthday River,” Rain, 50, wrote in the caption to her post.
“Happy birthday to your beautiful brother,” musicianPatti Smithwrote in a comment on Rain’s post. “And blessings on all the Phoenix’s. 💙”
Rain and River Phoenix.Rain Phoenix/Instagram
The eldest of the five Phoenix siblings, River was born in Madras, Oregon, and traveled internationally with his family as missionaries for the religious movement theChildren of God.
While living in Venezuela, he and Rain formed a singing duet to help their family make ends meet; the actortold PEOPLE back in 1986that they would sometimes perform “at airports and in front of hotels — ya know, to eat.”
The Phoenix family parted ways with the Children of God and returned to the United States in 1977, eventually settling in California. River gained his first acting jobs in commercials along the way and gained his first major role in the 1982-83 television seriesSeven Brides for Seven Brothers.
He later made his feature-film debut in 1985’sExplorersalongside another newcomer at the time,Ethan Hawke.
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Joaquin and River Phoenix cooking at their home in Los Angeles circa 1985.Dianna Whitley/Getty
Phoenix found his breakout role in 1986’sStand By Me, theRob Reiner-directed film adapted fromStephen King’s 1982 novellaThe Body. Phoenix played one of four friends who set out to find the body of a local missing boy in theAcademy Award-nominated film.
Two years later, River received his own Oscar nod for his role as Danny Pope in 1988’sRunning on Empty. The young actor continued to make a name for himself in Hollywood with an appearance as a young Indiana Jones in 1989’s box-office hitIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and as Carl in 1992’s star-studded featureSneakers.
River found passions in activism — he was a vegetarian from age 8 onward — and music in addition to his acting career. He and Rain formed and performed in a band called Aleka’s Attic, and River befriended young musicians and actors in Los Angeles likeKeanu Reeves.
The actor died in the early morning of Halloween 1993 outside the Los Angeles venue The Viper Room, after he collapsed on the sidewalk.
River Phoenix at the 61st Annual Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon on March 21, 1989, at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Ron Galella, Ltd/Ron Galella Collection/Getty
River’s girlfriend at the time,Samantha Mathis, and younger brotherJoaquin Phoenixwere among those present at the time of his death;Leonardo DiCapriohas also said he briefly encountered River at a separate event the night he died.
“I knew something was wrong that night, something I didn’t understand," Mathis, now 53, toldThe Guardianof River’s death back in 2018. “I didn’t see anyone doing drugs but he was high in a way that made me feel uncomfortable — I was in way over my head.”
“Forty-five minutes later, he was dead,” theSuper Mario Bros.actress said at the time.
Last year, River’s motherArlyn “Heart” Phoenixcelebrated his lifeon his 52nd birthdaywhen she shared a throwbackblack-and-white photoof the duo on Instagram alongside a caption that read, “On August 23, 1970, at 12:03 PM in a little town called Madras in Oregon, I became a mother.”
“52 years ago I experienced a LOVE beyond all of my understanding which transformed my life and multiplied in and out of my being,” continued Heart, 78. “During the past years since I have posted on Facebook, I have shared how deeply his life and passing affected me. He remains a guiding light on my pathway forward.”
source: people.com
