River Jude Phoenix (August 23, 1970 — October 31, 1993) was an American film actor. He was listed on John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38 as one of twelve "promising new actors of 1986," and was hailed as highly talented by such critics as Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. He was also well known for his animal rights activism. His career was cut short when he died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning 1993 at age 23. He was the older brother of actor...
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River Jude Phoenix (August 23, 1970 — October 31, 1993) was an American film actor. He was listed on John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38 as one of twelve "promising new actors of 1986," and was hailed as highly talented by such critics as Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. He was also well known for his animal rights activism. His career was cut short when he died of a drug overdose on Halloween morning 1993 at age 23. He was the older brother of actors and actresses Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix and Summer Phoenix.
Phoenix was born River Jude Bottom in Metolius, Oregon, five miles (8 km) south of Madras, Oregon. His mother, Arlyn Sharon (née Dunetz), a.k.a. Heart Phoenix, was born in The Bronx, New York to Jewish parents from Hungary and Russia. His father, John Lee Bottom, was a lapsed Catholic from Fontana, California.
In 1968, Phoenix's mother, "Heart," left her family and moved to California, meeting Phoenix's father while hitch-hiking. They married in 1969 and joined...
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