River Phoenix

[Twill Bill]

River had been compared frequently, even before his death, to James Dean, but Phoenix's persona was nowhere near as clearly defined. He hadn't completed an iconic film, a Rebel Without a Cause or a Giant, to sharpen his memory in the popular imagination; only Stand By Me, made when Phoenix was still a child swaddled in puppy fat, came close. (EDIT: I DISAGREE! 1) HE WAS NOT FAT! HE WAS GORGEOUS IN STAND BY ME- SO SEXY<, YES I KNOW HE WAS YOUNG! 2) STAND BY ME WAS AN ICONIC FILM AS WAS MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO)

He had to gain a bit of weight to do Stand By Me, didn't he? So that he would look younger.

 

[Lacroix]

^ I didnt know that but he didnt look big or like he had puppy fat at all. I know that he was 16 when he done that but I always thought he was much younger.

 

[o0ceania]

i like how belinda mentions him in her california song!

 

[skinny_boho]

^me too... and that Natalie Merchant song is just...

 

[o0ceania]

what song is that? what are all the songs about river? i dont think j. depp and river ever made a show together....they should've tho! they would've been fantastic together.

 

[kaleigh]

He was possibly the most beautiful and caring human being ever,no one could ever compare.

Read this wonderful article he wrote for Earth Day 1990
http://www.aleka.org/phoenix/zines/phoeni20.htm

--http://www.myownprivateidaho.com/

 

[silk skin paws]

He was so photogenic and mysterious looking. I miss him.

 

[Lacroix]

^ I miss him too

I just watched The Thing Called Love recently, definetley not his best film but it was good anyway.


I found this article about him from 1986, it's weird because obviously I've never read anything about him as I was too young when he was alive, to notice him

People Weekly, Sept 29, 1986
The child of flower children, actor River Phoenix rises from a strange past to blossom in Stand By Me.

By Susan Reed


River Phoenix is an odd sort of actor who, for no apparent reason -- perhaps in keeping with his strange name -- likes to give interviews upside down. After requesting a drink from his mother (''Yo, Mama-jama, can we have some OJ, pleeze!''), the 5 ft.8 in. 135-lb. beanstalk is hanging by his knees from an exercise bar in his parents' rented home outside San Diego. He is delivering himself of observations he's formed in his long 16 years. Has he done drugs? ''I've tried marijuana a few times but I don't like it,'' River admits as his size-9 feet -- stuffed into a pair of smelly basketball shoes -- kick wildly in the air. ''I really get boring on marijuana. It makes me dull.''
It's probably the only thing that does. As one of the stars of Rob Reiner's Stand By Me, River is being called one of the most exciting young actors on the screen. In what the Washington Post described as a performance that gives the movie its ''center of gravity,'' River plays Chris Chambers, a scruffy, sensitive, cigarette-smoking kid burdened with a family of losers. ''He's trapped in his reputation -- that no- good Chambers kid,'' says Phoenix, whose quiet intensity has been compared to that of Montgomery Clift and Steve McQueen. ''He's a smart kid. He wants so bad to climb above it all. I felt sorry for him.''
The emotional crescendo in Stand By Me comes when Chris, accused of theft, finally confronts the town's contempt for his blue-collar family. ''For my money it's the strongest thing in the film,'' says director Reiner. ''I've seen the movie a thousand times, and every time I see that scene I cry.''
Maybe what makes River so evocative is that he lacks the affectations of the born-to-be-a-star actor. An independent spirit, Phoenix does not have moussed hair or leather-patched blazers, and he makes no precocious displays of industry sophistication. (He claims he doesn't even know who Vanna White is.)
That ingenuousness owes something to his unorthodox upbringing. River and his siblings -- brother Leaf, 12, and sisters Rainbow, 13, Liberty, 10, and Summer, 8 -- are being raised in '60s style by John and Arlyn Phoenix. After River was born in a log cabin in Madras, Ore., where his parents had jobs picking apples, the family migrated across the country in a VW bus. Joining a religious organization, the Children of God, in 1973 the Phoenixes traveled to Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
It was there that River and Rainbow formed a singing duet to help make ends meet. Sometimes they performed in talent shows and sometimes, says River, ''at airports and in front of hotels -- ya know, to eat.''
Although John had been named Archbishop of Venezuela by the Children of God, he and Arlyn became disillusioned with the organization and left in 1977. The family made its way back from Caracas, first settling in Florida, then in California.
While John worked as a landscaper and furniture restorer, Arlyn toiled as a secretary. By the time the family reached California, River was beginning to evince some acting ability. Roles in commercials gradually led to TV movies, a TV series, 1982-83's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and a feature film, 1985's Explorers.
''We were flower children,'' says John, 39, who with Arlyn, 40, now manages River's career. ''We were full of faith and we loved everybody. I think the kids have learned that. I don't think there is any prejudice in their bones.''
Rob Reiner agrees. ''There's something inside River that his parents are largely responsible for. He's got tremendous warmth; he's obviously been loved quite a bit. His parents have somehow managed to maintain what was pure and good about the '60s morality and make it work. When kids are talented and become successful, you never know if they're going to make the right judgments. Knowing his family, I give River a good shot.''
River gets his next onscreen exposure in December, when he co-stars with Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast. Filming the adaptation of Paul Theroux's novel gave River the chance to start a relationship with cast member Martha Plimpton, 15, his girlfriend for the past seven months. They'd met a year earlier, says River, ''but we couldn't stand each other.'' Once filming started, however, ''we realized we both had changed a lot,'' although River can't quite explain how. ''I don't know, we're just cooler, I guess. We both grew a couple of inches.'' River is also at a loss to say how his career will develop, though his imagination and energy should take him far. ''I was in the birth canal for three days,'' he proclaims with a poker face, ''so when I came out, I really shot out.'' If he catapults into the future the way he came out of the womb, River Phoenix is going to be a name to remember.

credit: http://www.aleka.org

 

[AMACINOM]

I just watched My Own Private Idaho yesterday and whoaaa not what i expected at first , but i loovved it by the end! Not many actors can play a character like Mike but i think River pulled it off brilliantly. At the end of MOPI, when the car pulls away down the road, i was crying, though not really for the movie but for river.

From MOPI


Stand By Me


He was a truly talented actor who had so much potential. I hope that we have more young actors like him today who aren't acting just for the fame or money...

 

[funkyhepburn]

he reminds me so much of james dean

 

[Lacroix]

I completley forgot about this thread- Amacinom I love that Stand By Me video, he looks so amazing, I love it when he gives Gordie some 'skin'

It makes me so sad that someone who was brimming with talent and was such an amazing person had to be stupid as to destroy his life. He was special from the start it such a pathetic waste. I saw The thing called Love recently (not one of his best films) but he enchanted me eitherway

 

[Stamoholic]

Just thinking about River gives me this unbelievable feeling. It's like fascination and sadness and anger all at once.
But when I look at his picture I just wanna cry.
RIP xxx

 

[Lacroix]

^ I agree

 

[silk skin paws]

River had a love and hate relationship with his teen idol status. Posing on the cover of seventeen magazine wasn't him.



from teenidols4you.com

 

[~Gia~]

Whoa, never knew he had a thread. Thx for the amazing photos.<3

 

[Lacroix]

weird that this thread has been updated again, i randomly felt like watching one of his films yesterday, ended up with Running on Empty, loved it

 

[~Gia~]

I wish the last picture was bigger.:-[
source-photobucket

 

[Stamoholic]

^ I love those! Thanks you! xx

Did River have a cameo in Dazed and Confused? I'm 100% sure I saw him.

 

[Gincat]

This Bruce Webber shoot is has some of the most iconic 90's images for me. The free-spiritedness, the risk, the creativity, the attitude and finally style. .
keanuweb, teenidols4you

 

[Gincat]

To think... he was just getting started.

They had a close friendship and these last three really reflect that.
keanuweb