River Phoenix

River Jude Phoenix was born in Madras, Oregon, in 1970, the eldest of five children in a family that travelled widely during his early years before settling in the United States. He and his sister performed music on the streets to help support the family, and his path led naturally to television work and a screen debut in the film Explorers in 1985.

Stand by Me in 1986 revealed a rare, unguarded talent, and Running on Empty brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at just eighteen. He played the young Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade and gave his most acclaimed performance in My Own Private Idaho, winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival in 1991.

Off screen he was a committed environmentalist, animal-rights advocate, and vegan, and a devoted musician who fronted the band Aleka's Attic. He died in Los Angeles on 31 October 1993, at twenty-three, of accidental drug intoxication, a loss mourned across a generation. His legacy lives in performances of startling honesty, in his family's continuing work, including his brother Joaquin's career, and in the causes he championed early.