River Jude
Phoenix, who died in the early 1990s, was a gifted actor in the 1980s and 1990s. You might recognize him as the older brother of Joaquin
Phoenix. River was a proponent of animal rights, an environmentalist, and an actor. He was a true angel who was loving and generous, gracious, who would always go out of his way to support others. River was ahead of his time in his efforts to raise concerns about global warming and to put an
end to animal cruelty; in particular, he was one of the first vegans in the 1980s, when few
people knew what it meant. Stand By Me, Running On Empty, My Own Private Idaho, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are just a few of his memorable films. His success in the film My Own Private Idaho with his best friend Keanu Reeves made him an LGBTQ icon. Many
people came out as a result of his performance, and many speculated River himself was bisexual. He tragically died of an overdose on Halloween, 1993, as a result of drugs given to him by his friend John Frusciante that night. River
Phoenix, on the other hand, will still be remembered as a symbol and a
legend who deserved so much more.
