River Phoenix's sister Rain is remembering her late brother on what would have been his 54th birthday.
The 'Stand By Me' actor would have been 54 on Aug. 23.
In her post, Rain shared a quote attributed to her late brother: “We’re all worth it man. We’re all worth millions of planets and stars and galaxies and universes.”
The carousel of photos largely includes quotes of River’s dedication to various humanitarian causes, including environmentalism, LGBTQ+ equality and plant-based eating. “If I have some celebrity, I hope I can use it to make a difference,” one quote reads. “The true social reward is that I can speak my mind and share my thoughts about the environment and civilization itself.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, 61, who was with River on the fateful night he collapsed outside The Viper Room nightclub in Los Angeles and accompanied him to the hospital, commented on Rain’s tribute post, saying: “Happy birthday most beautiful one.”
The Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho star died of a drug overdose outside the Viper Room nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood on Oct. 31, 1993. He was 23 years old. Two of his four younger siblings, Rain and actor Joaquin Phoenix, star of the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux, were also at the venue.
River was the eldest of the five Phoenix siblings, which includes Oscar-winning 'Joker' actor Joaquin, 49, Liberty, 48, Summer, 45, and Rain herself.
The Phoenix family spent their early years traveling as missionaries for the Children of God before settling in California in the late 1970s after leaving the religious group. It was here that River began his acting career.
His first feature film was 'Explorers' in 1985, but it was his role in 'Stand by Me' a year later that catapulted him to fame. The film, a coming-of-age tale about a group of high school kids searching for a dead body, was based on the Stephen King story 'The Body'.
River earned an Oscar nomination in 1988 for his performance in 'Running on Empty' and played a young Indiana Jones in the 1989 film 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'.
Despite his youth, Phoenix was already an accomplished actor when he died. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a teen coping with his family's life as fugitives in Running on Empty (1989). He was also lauded for his work alongside Keanu Reeves in the Gus Van Sant movie My Own Private Idaho (1992), winning the year's Venice Film Festival award for best actor.
His family has publicly remembered him before. In 2023, his mother, Arlyn “Heart” Phoenix declared that he “was and still is our greatest teacher.”
“The greatest pain I experienced in my life was the pain of natural childbirth and even tho quite different, the pain of my son's passing,” she wrote. “But almost instantaneously on both occasions, the gifts that he brought were imbued in each of us and so we carry on celebrating his life for those 23 precious years.”
Phoenix’s death “shocked the hell out of me,” Reiner said. “Wow. It upset me so much, but I had seen him a few years after Stand by Me, and I knew he had been taking drugs and stuff. I knew he wasn’t living in the best place.”
Reiner referred to Phoenix as “a brilliant, brilliant young actor,” who was “like a James Dean” in that he left behind so many great performances.
On the tragic night of River's death on 31 October, 1993, both Rain and Joaquin were present. Joaquin made the desperate 911 call while Rain attempted to revive her brother with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Rain, her sibling and their mother Heart Phoenix typically share tributes to River on the anniversaries of his birthday and death. Last year, Heart, 79, shared a photo of River playing the guitar to Instagram as she wrote that his birth was “one of the most amazing days of my life.”
“Just as he tried to do with most people, River Jude embraced each of his siblings (who entered through the same portal after him) with his humor, wisdom, authenticity, talent, compassion, vulnerability and undying Love,” she wrote in part in a caption at the time. “I would say he was and still is our greatest teacher.”
River Phoenix died on Oct. 31, 1993, in West Hollywood, California, from a drug overdose at 23.
The actor was known for many films including, “My Own Private Idaho,” “The Mosquito Coast” and “Stand By Me.”
In 1989, he received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his performance in the Sidney Lumet-directed film, “Running on Empty.”
In 2020, River Phoenix and Rain Phoenix’s brother, Joaquin Phoenix, one of River Phoenix’s five siblings, opened up in an interview with “60 Minutes” about how River Phoenix’s death impacted their family and how he feels connected to his brother in films that he work on.
“I feel like in virtually every movie that I made, there was a connection to River in some way,” the Academy Award-winning actor said.
“And I think that we’ve all felt his presence and guidance in our lives in numerous ways,” he added.
River Phoenix's legacy lives on through his work and the impact he made on those who knew him. Rain Phoenix’s touching tribute on his birthday is a testament to the enduring love and respect for her brother.
