Its been 16 years since his death so i thought id show some respect to a great actor.
Rip River Posted by Kash (Member # 297) on :
Glad you remembered River, great young actor who'll always have his fans. I remember the year well.
Posted by Riptide (Member # 457) on :
Seriously wonder what he would be doing now if he was alive. Just caught Stand by Me on TV again last night and just floored how good he was at such a young age. Just thinking of him and Cobain and how much talent we lost in 93-94.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
"Stand By Me" and "Running On Empty" are two River Phoenix films that showcase his acting skills in my opinion.
I always wondered everyone's thoughts upon learning the news of River Phoenix's death. Quite a surreal moment based on how the ending of "Stand By Me" touched so many of us.
Posted by journey (Member # 7316) on :
I used to work at Tower Video on Sunset and parked just a few feet away from where he died. That was a weird feeling. I guess anyone who's walked into the Viper Room has pretty much stood on the same spot...I wonder if people think of that when they go there.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Actually, I went to The Viper Room when I visited LA last year and that is exactly what kept running through my mind.
Journey...Tower Video on Sunset ...that must have been an experience!
Posted by journey (Member # 7316) on :
Yeah, it was. I think I mentioned finding Johnny Depp passed out behind my car one night in another thread here.
Posted by saturnchick (Member # 7524) on :
I loved River back in the late 80s and early 90s. I watched so many of his movies: The Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, Explorers, The Mosquito Coast, Running on Empty, etc., but Stand By Me is still my favorite. I must have watched that movie 100 times when I was growing up.
I distinctly remember hearing about River dying outside the Viper Room. My birthday happens to be Oct. 29th - just a day or two before River's death. My parents had purchased The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as one of my bday gifts, and I was playing it when my father came into my room to tell me that River had overdosed. I still play that game from time to time, and strangely enough, I always associate it with the news of his death. It's weird how things stick in your mind.
Posted by Two Lost Souls (Member # 8863) on :
River was a brillant actor. I think he was poised to be the best of his generation. When I think about what his career would have been had he lived, I imagine it being along the lines of Johnny Depp's career. Doing weird, out there roles/movies.
"Stand By Me" is my favorite movie of all time. For being so young, he was great in it...they all were. He was also great in "My Own Private Idaho", though I don't completely get it! lol
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
a fantastic actor agreed with all. i think he would have gone on to win quite a few awards and could have seen him play along side the likes of dicaprio, ethan hawk, mat damon and would have given a lot of actors competition for roles throughout the 90s without a doubt. Its a shame.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Phoenix was a much better actor than DiCaprio, Hawk, Damon etc...I am not saying because he died. I say it because I saw most of his movies before he died and enjoyed his acting in most of them. He was very good. Very himself and would have gone on to be regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. My opinion anyway.
Posted by Chloe (Member # 37365) on :
I'm a huge fan of River Phoenix!
I've seen every single one of his movies. He was so talented.
Posted by Nostalgic for the '80's (Member # 37454) on :
I was shocked when I heard about the unexpected death of River Phoenix back in '93 - he was very close to my age, which made this all the more disturbing. Very sad.
I had been a big fan of Stand by Me (1986) and Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade (1989) - I saw both in the theater. Saw Running on Empty years later, and thought that was great as well.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)