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. His career was cut short, when he died of an overdose of
heroin and
cocaine (also known as a
speedball) on Halloween morning 1993 at age 23. He was the older brother of actor
Joaquin Phoenix.
Biography
Early life
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.
[Summer Phoenix : articles (part 1)][FOXNews.com - 'Walk the Line' Star Won't Campaign for Oscar - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment][Ten American showbiz celebrities of Russian descent - Pravda.Ru] His father, John Lee Bottom, was a
lapsed Catholic from
Fontana,
California.
[JewishJournal.com] In 1968, Phoenix's mother left her family and moved to California, meeting Phoenix's father while hitch-hiking. They married in 1969 and joined the religious cult the
Children of God, working as missionaries and fruit pickers in
South America. Phoenix had four younger siblings: one brother,
Joaquin, and three sisters,
Rain,
Summer, and Liberty. He also had an older half sister from his father's previous relationship, Jodene (who later changed her name to 'Trust').
