On what would have been his 54th birthday, River Phoenix, the iconic Hollywood actor who passed away at the tender age of 23 in 1993, was lovingly commemorated by his sister Rain. She took to Instagram with a heartfelt post filled with nostalgic images and quotes from River, captioning it: "Happy Birthday River." Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea , who witnessed River's tragic collapse outside Johnny Depp's The Viper Room nightclub and was present during his last moments, responded to the tribute with a touching comment: "Happy birthday most beautiful one.
" Denzel Washington hints at retirement as 'there's little films left for me' Billy Baldwin hits out at Ann Coulter after 'repugnant' jibe aimed at Gus Waltz River, the oldest of the Phoenix clan which includes the acclaimed 'Joker' star Joaquin Phoenix , grew up with his siblings Liberty, Summer, and Rain. Their early years were spent as missionaries for the Children of God before they left the group and laid down roots in California during the late '70s, where River embarked on his acting journey. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rain Phoenix (@rainjphoenix) His debut in the film industry came with 'Explorers' in 1985, but it was his breakthrough role in 'Stand by Me' that shot him to stardom.
This coming-of-age story, based on Stephen King's 'The Body', follows a band of high school friends on a quest to find a dead body. River's talent earned him an Academy Award nomination for his role in 'Running on Empty' in 1988, and he also portrayed a young Indiana Jones in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' in 1989. On the fateful night of October 31, 1993, when River tragically passed away, both Rain and Joaquin were present.
It was Joaquin who made the frantic 911 call while Rain tried to resuscitate her brother. In tribute to his late brother, Joaquin named his son after him. Phoenix has spoken about his brother's lasting impact on his life, specifically as it pertains to acting.
In September 2019, a year before his son's birth, Phoenix paid an emotional tribute to his late sibling while accepting the TIFF Tribute Actor Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. He said to Variety: "When I was 15 or 16, my brother River came home from work and he had a VHS copy of a movie called Raging Bull and he sat me down and made me watch it. "And the next day he woke me up and he made me watch it again.
And he said, 'You're going to start acting again, this is what you're going to do.' "He didn't ask me, he told me. And I am indebted to him for that because acting has given me such an incredible life.
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