"I think River was like my late son. He was years ahead of his age. I think
people like that are very vulnerable to...well, to other people. they are prey for the not so good."
-Alan Bates Co-star, Silent Tongue
"They came to me when they were little children, the whole family. I've had them since River was,like,nine.
He was the most beautiful child you've ever seen, like a little Elvis."
-Iris Burton River's agent
"He often said he wished he could just be anonymous, but he never was. When he wasn't a movie star, he was
a missionary."
-Arlyn Phoenix
"He bought up acres and acres of forests. He did not invest in condos; he bought rain forests. He spent
thousands and thousands of dollars, just so they wouldn't be cut down. That's what he was doing with his money."
-William Richert Director, Jimmy Reardon/co-star My Own Private Idaho
"I felt really bad, because I felt like he was there for everybody, and nobody was there for him. I knew maybe
there were problems...but he was such a great actor that he would just totally calm my nerves. I mean, he would
make you feel crazy for even asking him, "Is everything all right?"
-Anthony Clark Co-star Dogfight, The Thing Called Love
"One time we were up in the mountains, and the clouds came rigt up to the top of the mountain. River grabbed (my)
arm and said, "We're going to run and jump into these clouds and our whold past lives will dissolve, and everything
will be new from then on. Hold on." And we did that...it was incredible, and we landed on this soft iceberg kind of
ground covering. But we jumped through clouds, literally."
-William Richert Director Jimmy Reardon, Co-star My Own Private Idaho
"There was always an outsider quality to him. I think he must have felt that way somewhat, because his family was unusual
and his name was unusual."
-Joe Dante Director, Explorers
"He sent a very sweet letter and a present after Larry (Oliver, her husband) died. It was a tuning fork, and the message said,
"Tune in to life."
-Joan Plowright Co-star, I Love You To Death
"We talked the entire day. One of the reasons I opened up to him is that I felt he did understand and felt how I did- not the same
way, but the pain."
-Michael Parker Inspiration for River's character in My Own Private Idaho
"River Phoenix was a victim of the machine. The fame machine, the Hollywood machine, the selling machine, the money machine. And the
machine is a liar."
-Jim Barton Screenwriter, Dark Blood
"I know one thing: River did not want to die. He had too much going on...But I guess that's part of what happens...it's a release. People
find different ways of escaping. He had a lot of stress, not only on the set."
-Sky Sworski Friend and benefactor
"We did ten takes of the soliloquy, the last day we shot him on Dark Blood. It was in the cave...all lit by candles. After the last take I didn't
turn off the camera. When we saw the dailies, for ten seconds River was in front of the camera, just a silhouette lit by ambient light. It was...
eerie. People were crying. We knew that was the last we would see of River."
-Ed Lachman Director of photography, Dark Blood
"When I first met River, he had very long hair and he struck me- as he came out of an elevator-as an angel, some kind of supernatural being. An angel
could be Gabriel, but an angel could be Lucifer too. He could as readily delve in to the deep dark recesses as he would fly up to the lofty, illuminated (places)."
-Bobby Bukowski Director of photography, Dogfight
"You would have thought we was ninety and had died in his sleep. The people who were saying this felt tremendous guilt that they had contributed to his death.
He's already being made into a martyr. He's become a metaphor for a fallen angel, a Messiah. But he wasn't. He was just a boy, a very good hearted boy who was
very $%##$% up and had no idea how to implement his good intentions. I don't want to be comforted by his death. I think it's right that I'm angry about it, angry
at the people who helped him stay sick, and angry at River."
-Martha Plimpton
River's first and longest lasting girlfriend
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