River Phoenix‘s sister Rain Phoenix paid a touching tribute to the late actor on what would have been his 54th birthday.
In an Instagram post made Friday, the singer and actress shared a series of images of and quotes by the Stand By Me star. She captioned the post — set to her song “Immolate,” which features lyrics like “I’m gonna hold onto love / ’cause it’s the only way out” — “Happy Birthday River 🩵.”
The carousel of photos largely includes quotes of River’s dedication to various humanitarian causes, including environmentalism, LGBTQ+ equality and plant-based eating. “If I have some celebrity, I hope I can use it to make a difference,” one quote reads. “The true social reward is that I can speak my mind and share my thoughts about the environment and civilization itself.”
Another excerpt reads, “We’re all worth it man. We’re all worth millions of planets and stars and galaxies and universes.”
River died on Oct. 31, 1993, at the age of 23, from a drug overdose. Despite being a young performer with his star on the rise, he had already been nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in Running on Empty. His most known performances include Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me opposite Kiefer Sutherland, The Mosquito Coast with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and the Gus Van Sant film My Own Private Idaho with Keanu Reeves.
Various actors and loved ones commented on the post, including friend, Red Hot Chili Peppers founding member and bassist Flea, who accompanied River to the hospital after the actor collapsed at The Viper Room. “Happy birthday most beautiful one,” he wrote.
Dermot Mulroney, who starred alongside him in 1993’s The Thing Called Love, commented, “Happy Birthday River – my inspiration ❤️ .”
Rock band Garbage wrote, “He was a beautiful angel . Too good for this world. 🖤”
