Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of River Phoenix’s death of a drug overdose — a grim day for Hollywood. In his new memoir “Running With Monsters” (Crown Archetype, available now ...

Phoenix was a frustrated rock star and, in the days leading up to his death, he’d holed up with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante and embarked on a massive drug binge. “[River ...

River Phoenix was just 23 years old when he collapsed outside of a Los Angeles nightclub and died in 1993 Lynsey Eidell is a contributing writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022.

Three days earlier, Joaquin had celebrated his 19th birthday. Now he was calling 9-1-1 about his brother River Phoenix. A few minutes earlier inside the Viper Room, a nightclub on the Sunset Strip ...