River Phoenix

[Stamoholic]

^ I remember reading an interview with River in which he basically uttered that sentiment, La Bordelique. He said he was embarrassed that he had ever been in magazines like Teen Beat, and that he thought the way they made him pose with his shirt off and suck in his cheeks and pout his lips was gross. I've got to agree.

I just watch MOPI and wonder about all the beautiful, wonderful incarnations of River as a mature actors that never happened... I wish they had.

 

[SusanSuperstar]

I love that b&w pic of him with the hat!

 

[La bordélique]

GQ's The 50 Most Stylish Leading Men of the Past Half Century

[...]

River Phoenix

No antidote to the neon-and-Velcro-addled '80s quite like a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a good head of hair. The hippie-bred River Phoenix once recalled for The New York Times his earliest sartorial memories—"Rich kids gave us their old clothes, which were the best clothes we ever had"—and he never strayed too far from that threadbare, thrift-store path. Of course, he could dress for the occasion: his 1989 stroll down Oscar's red carpet wearing a fitted tuxedo and a pixieish young Martha Plimpton on his arm was a lesson in offhanded panache. But it was River in round wire-rimmed glasses, River with a stray lock of long matted hair falling across his face, River partying for PETA in an army-surplus fatigue jacket and anti-fur pin that paved the way for the moody grunge to come—like a Ziggy Stardust for the '90s, come to spread word of a better, cooler way before rocketing back up to the stars.

gq.com

 

[Stamoholic]

^ I'm so glad they mentioned the lock of hair I've loved that lock since I was like 8 years old! Lol! Fantastic article. I'm sure River wouldn't have given a damn about being considered a fashion icon ( although of course he would probs have appreciated the sentiment), but it's still great to see the media remembering him in anyway way that isn't just, " That young good looking boy who died."

xx

 

[La bordélique]

I absolutely ADORED when he had long blond hair... he didn't even need to make an effort to look cool.

Proof: when he dressed in a t-shirt and jeans at a Batman movie premiere.

 

[Eire]

My favourite style of River's was when he had the long blonde hair! Thanks for the video link. You're right, effortlessly cool.

Here's my scan of Gus Van Sant with River, Keanu and the rest of the cast of My Own Private Idaho.

 

[Stamoholic]

^ That's new to me, thanks! What a great picture. Sort of sad to look at though. Poor River, and poor Rodney In a way, that film was the beginning of the end for them both.

 

[SusanSuperstar]

too bad it´s not much going on here!!!

 

[ChristieHumble]

To try and reinvigorate the thread... here's a recently emerging pic of kid Riv with his family. Thanks go to ashnb88 from the imdb forums.

 

[SusanSuperstar]

^so cute!

 

[Eire]

big...

imaginarymen.wordpress.com

 

[Stamoholic]

Some River quotes just to keep the thread going:

“When I was in first grade, everyone made fun of my name, of course. I think it’s kind of a big name to hold up when you’re nine years old. It seemed goofy. I used to tell people I wanted to change the world and they used to think, ‘This kid’s really weird’.”

“Jimmy Reardon is when we first had financial stability. That’s when we bought a car that wasn’t used or old. I live pretty simply. I’m not into the whole clothes thing, although I have comforts that a lot of people don’t have – a blender, a toilet, a shower.”

“One thing I would like to do when I have the money is buy thousands of acres in the Brazilian rain forest and make a national park, so no one can bulldoze it to put a MacDonald’s there.”

“There’s the optimistic side of me, too, which believes that we live in an incredible time and that if we all came together on the important issues and stand up for our rights, as Bob Marley said, we could really accomplish a lot. In my mind, I have all these utopias and fantasies, but I believe they can work, I really do.”

“In my Utopic world, I’d live on a tropical island without any industrialization or pollution. I’d be able to fly up the mountain range nearby where there was snow, then make a sled out of an old stump and ski down the mountain to the bottom where I could bathe and swim in a running river and meet up with a group of friends.”

“Everything is ironic to me. There are moments I find hysterical, but I’m probably the only one who would find that, except for a few people.”

“I will say that I really feel sorry for all the true hippies that have to deal with me in the press as their poster child. I’m certainly not a good example of what the pure American hippie is. I find it quite hilarious every time that I see something as lame as Sassy’s article about ‘River Phoenix and His Little Hippie Band’. All that sort of stuff to me is like, ‘Please, don’t insult the hippie families of America by using us as their poster children’. It’s just ridiculous. It underrates true hippies. It’s a way of life, not an appearance.”

“Biggest problem was I was terrible for commercials – I couldn’t smile on cue.”

 

[SusanSuperstar]

^oh, thank you for those!

 

[Eire]

I got a real actual scanner today, woo hoo! Since his birthday is coming up (Aug 23rd), I scanned some random photos...more later.

 

[La bordélique]

Eire, those scans are terrific! Thank you, thank you!

 

[Eire]

My scans

 

[SusanSuperstar]

oh, thanks so much for the scans!

 

[inwhiterooms]

I remember seeing old school books of my sisters with River Phoenix sticky taped all over them and not realising how big he actually was at the time. She told me she was so sad when he passed away, how crazy.

He was so good looking though

 

[Eire]

My scans. Happy Birthday to River Phoenix...

 

[Eire]

Some more of my scans