ONTD Original: Things you may not know about River Phoenix
As a followup to the last post detailing the the rumors of how River Phoenix died, I’m making this one to explore who he was in life. This post will be image and video-heavy, so follow the cut for more about River.
Children of God cult
River and his young siblings grew up in the notorious Children of God cult, which practiced child rape, encouraging initiating children into sex starting at 4 years old. River admitted in a 1991 interview to Details magazine that he “lost his virginity” at age 4. River’s parents were prominent leaders of the Venezuelan chapter of the cult where his father was archbishop. Any money they made went to the founder of the church, David Berg, and the Phoenixes were destitute. To feed themselves, they pushed River and his sister, Rain, to busk for money on the streets. River taught himself guitar at age 6 and was the primary breadwinner for his 7-person family by age 7.
Environmentalism
River was a staunch environmentalist and animal rights supporter. As a young child, he decided to stop eating animal byproducts after seeing fishermen near his Venezuela home killing their catch and converted his entire family to veganism. He used his celebrity to push forward his environmentalist agenda every chance he got, as he felt it was his duty to improve the world with the platform he had. River practiced what he preached- on film sets, he refused to wear any animal products and would insist his costumes be vegan. Before he death, he bought 800 acres of rainforest on the border of Costa Rica and Panama, as well as created a non-profit to save endangered species. Before PETA lost its damn mind, he was one of their early and most famous spokespeople.
River for outtakes and commercial PETA:
Click to viewRiver and Lisa Bonet on a talk show discussing their beliefs:
Aleka’s Attic/Musicianship
River was a talented natural actor with no formal training. He enjoyed acting, but his first true love was music. He started a band as a teenager called Aleka’s Attic. The release of the album, with the proposed titles Never Odd Or Even and Zero, was postponed due to River's death. Though Rain spent two years weeding through unfinished tracks and mixing what was a slew of performances, no finished product was ever completed. The reason is that there has been communication problems between the Phoenix family and former members. In 1997, Phoenix's friend Michael Stipe of R.E.M. bought the rights to all of Aleka's Attic's material from Island Records.
Aleka's Attic, "In the Corner Dunce"
In 1989, River was nominated for an Oscar for his film “Running On Empty,” wherein he learned to play the piano skillfully. While he never pursued the instrument, he can be seen playing in the movie.
Famous Besties
One of the most interesting parts about River’s legacy is how the people who knew him speak about him. He was beloved by all of his colleagues and became close friends with many of them, who still speak about him with reverence and sadness. Among his close friends were Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Keanu Reeves (“I Love You to Death and “My Own Private Idaho,”) Dan Aykroyd (“Sneakers,”), Ethan Hawke (“Explorers,”) Dermot Mulroney (“Silent Tongue” and “The Thing Called Love,”) Jonathan Pierce (they formed a bond on “Dark Blood,”) Flea (“My Own Private Idaho,”) and so on.
Ethan Hawke talking about River Phoenix for 2 minutes and 4 seconds straight pic.twitter.com/jKf1GUrKOo
- The River Phoenix Gallery (@phoenixsgallery) November 6, 2021
Keanu gets emotional talking about what led to River's death:
River and Flea talk music:
House of Blues Investor
Dan Aykroyd and River met on the set of “Sneakers” and became fast friends. Awkroyd was in the process of opening up what later became a chain music venue, The House of Blues. The company was originally financed by Dan Aykroyd, Aerosmith, Paul Shaffer, River Phoenix, Jim Belushi, and Harvard University, among others.
An interview snippet: “They are opening up The House of Blues in Cambridge, Maryland and will soon have a franchise of nightclubs and blues accessories around the country. “Help ever, hurt never,” the card slogan reads. “I can’t stand parties and I hate bars,” Phoenix says after being asked about his participation with the new venture. “…but I love music.” You might see a scheme that snares this naïve kid into gambling a considerable bankroll on Aykroyd’s new project. Soon, It’s clear that Phoenix wants to invest on his own. “Blues,” he says, “aside from the Native American music, it’s true, it’s the only true indigenous American music…”
LGBTQ Icon
River had many iconic roles during his short career, including Chris Chambers in “Stand By Me” and young Indy in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” However, the role of narcoleptic gay street hustler, Mike Waters, from “My Own Private Idaho” remains his most iconic. Famously, River rewrote the character to be gay when he was originally supposed to be asexual, and rewrote the famous campfire scene which has since become iconic. His depiction of innocent, unrequited love for Keanu Reeves’ character broke hearts everywhere.
Below is a video of LGBTQ+ young people discussing the impact his character had on their lives in 1996:
The famous campfire scene:
Half Jewish
River’s mother was a Bronx-born jew! So he is technically a tribe member.
To all of the River fans out there and those who are just curious about him, I hope you enjoyed this post! Please use this to discuss all things River.
Sources:
Aleka’s Attic Wiki/In the Corner Dunce
Running On Empty piano scene
Keanu Reeves interview
Ethan Hawke tweet
Flea/River video
House of Blues interview
Documentary from MOPI
Campfire scene MOPI
Talkshow video
PETA video