River Jude Phoenix (August 23 1970 – October 31 1993) was an Academy Award-nominated American film actor. He was listed on John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38 as one of twelve "Promising new actors of 1986." He received high praise for his acting talents by such critics as Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. However, his promising career was cut short when he died of a drug overdose at age 23.

Biography

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Phoenix's Irish-Spanish father, John Bottom, and Bronx-born Jewish mother, Arlyn Sharon Dunetz, joined the Children of God cult in the late 1960s and became missionaries, traveling throughout South America. Upon returning to the United States they adopted the surname "Phoenix." River Phoenix was born River Jude Bottom in Metolius, Oregon, five miles south of Madras, Oregon, and grew up in poverty. Contrary to popular belief, he was not born in a log cabin. He and his sister often had to busk to make money for the family. It was only after his starring role in the movie Stand By Me that River's family was able to buy a car that was not secondhand.

He and his family were all vegetarians. He believed that eating animals was wrong, though it was his younger brother, Joaquin, who, at the age of four, persuaded the family not to eat meat any longer. The family were on a ship from Venezuela to Florida at the time, and Joaquin had seen fishermen killing fish by banging their heads against the bulkheads. The family eventually became vegans. River's opinions on the issue were so strong that when his actress girlfriend, Martha Plimpton, ordered soft-shell crab at a restaurant, he reportedly began weeping out of disappointment. When he played the role of Gideon in the TV version of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, his mother insisted on him using a rope for a belt; he steadfastly refused to wear leather.

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