Random Saddest Things In The Life Of River Phoenix (11 items)

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  (#6) He First Tried Drugs With Corey Feldman

  River knew fellow child actor, Corey Feldman from the audition circuits in LA, but the two didn’t become friends until their landmark film Stand By Me. River and Feldman first got involved with drugs and alcohol on the set of that film. This path ultimately proved fatal for River, and it nearly destroyed Feldman’s life as well. A technician on the set of the film offered them their first hit of pot.

  "We both coughed a lot and had sore throats,” Feldman said. “But even though we were kind of bouncing off the walls of the hotel, neither of us seemed to be affected by it. It didn't change our state of mind in any way."

  River also recalled the first time he got drunk after some local kids in Oregon (the setting for Stand By Me) offered to buy him beer:

  "These kids, because this was Oregon and not LA, and because we were actors and they admired us or whatever, they'd do anything to appease us. So, they got me a forty-ouncer of beer, which I drank straight down just to show them,” River said. “The only other thing I remember about that night was laying on the railroad tracks with everything spinning all around me."
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  (#7) His Final Album With Aleka's Attic Was Never Released Due To Financial Disputes

  River was gifted with artistic talents in many different mediums. On top of being a talented actor, he was also a talented musician. When they were teenagers, River and his sister Rain formed the band Aleka’s Attic. However, they never got to complete their final album because participants on the album kept vying for a cut of the profits.

  "I wanted to put the record out and give the money to charities my brother felt strongly about, but I came up against some of the musicians who also played on it, wanting a lot of money for it, so I shelved it. It was meant to be something that was really beautiful, not about money. I was very happy with the way I finished it, and I love the music. I hope that one day I can release it,” Rain said.
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  (#5) He Used A Lot Of Drugs, And He Knew He Was Dying The Night He OD'd

  River’s drug use was far more indulgent than he had let on. He gave off the impression of a child of hippies, but he was spiraling downwards into dangerous drug use. His friend, Bob Forrest of punk band Thelonious Monster, recalled the cycle of drug use that he and their friends would run through on a regular basis.

   

  “The drug routine stayed pretty consistent for all of us. First, smoke crack or shoot coke directly into a vein for that ninety-second, electric brain-bell jangle,” Forrest said. “Then shoot heroin to get a grip and come down enough to be able to carry on a conversation for a few minutes before you start the cycle again.”

   

  A few days before The Viper Room incident, River been hanging out with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Guitarist, John Frusciante, and had not slept. Bob recalls when he saw River at The Viper Room that Halloween night in 1993, he was looking extremely sick. When he asked River how he was, River responded, “I don’t feel so good. I think I’m OD’ing.”
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  (#11) He Was Dyslexic

  When River was 13-years-old he starred in an afterschool special about a boy with dyslexia, Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia, but it wasn’t common knowledge that River had dyslexia himself. George Sluizer was the Dutch director behind River’s final film, Dark Blood.  Nearly 20 years after River’s passing, Sluizer recalled working with the actor and mentioned his dyslexia.

  “He was special in the sense that he was very instinctive. He was dyslexic, which meant he couldn't learn two lines without making a mistake,” Sluizer said. “That meant he had to understand what he said, to feel it. That gave him a certain strength."
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  (#1) He Died In Front Of His Siblings On The Steps Of Johnny Depp's Nightclub

  On October 31, 1993, River had done a speedball — a mixture of a couple of drugs — and became violently ill while at The Viper Room. The Viper Room was a club owned by actor and friend, Johnny Depp. River’s siblings, Rain and Joaquin, were at the club when he began having a seizure. River was taken outside, and Joaquin called 911. Rain threw herself on top of River’s body to try to stop his seizure. He lost consciousness and passed shortly thereafter. He was 23 years old.
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  (#9) His Final Movie Was Released Almost 20 Years After His Death

  River passed 11 days before they were supposed to finish filming Dark Blood. Director George Sluizer threw in the towel after River's OD. But, after Sluizer suffered from a brain aneurysm and nearly perished himself, he decided it was time to finish the film. He used narration to fill in the important scenes that River never got to film. The film finally made its debut at the Dutch film festival in 2012.

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