River Phoenix’s Mom & Sister Commemorate The Late Actor 30 Years After His Death

On Tuesday, Arlyn “Heart” Phoenix, the mother of the Stand by Me actor, River Phoenix, and the founder of the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding, honored her late son on Instagram, who had died from a drug overdose on October 31, 1993.

She posted an old photograph of River, including a caption in which the grieving mother reminded people why the last day of October means so much to her.

“Today marks 30 years that have come and gone since River passed away at the age of 23,” she wrote.

“From the first song he ever wrote at five years old seeing a kid being bullied: ‘Why do people fight, Why do people cheat, Why do people destroy the love in our world? I want to give my life for them, I know it won’t be easy my friend. If I could show them God’s, they will receive joy and peace from above.’ He was a voice for the voiceless and had the courage to use his celebrity to make a difference.

“Whether it was for human rights, animal rights, women’s rights, racial justice, environmentalism, or any wrong that needed to be righted, he was there,” she wrote.

Within her caption, Arlyn also quoted her daughter, Rain Phoenix. “Rain said it so eloquently…’River was not about telling people how to live their lives, he was about doing his part and encouraging others through his example, through his art. It’s just who he was as a person, his generosity, his spirit, his compassion.'”

“He was devastated by the state of the world then and even with the many changes that have happened, we are still at war with ourselves everywhere,” Arlyn declared. “I often think that he, like many of the young people of today, would be so confused that with all our incredible brilliance and advancements in all fields, we still haven’t found the ability to rectify these huge issues that continue to destroy the better nature of ourselves and all that live here.”

She ended her post by asking her followers, or anyone on Instagram who might see this post, the question, “when will we be brave enough to transform all of the issues of separation and move on to reparation, peace by peace, in order to live and celebrate our one common humanity? It’s not too late.”

Rain also honored her brother by posting a video tribute on Instagram. In the video, she showed a montage of fan-made drawings and paintings of him.

“Hi, this is Rain, and I wanted to honor and celebrate the life of my brother, River Phoenix, who passed away 30 years ago today. He cared so deeply about the planet, the animals, and all people. He really believed that one person can make a difference,” she stated.

The actress ended the video of a recording of River saying, “it’s the smaller things that make the bigger things seem so much more rewarding. We’re all in this together. We can all do our part.”

Her post included a caption, “30 years celebrating River’s life today.”

In addition to her caption including the quote from River in the video, Rain also gave credit to the artists of the images. “Sincerest gratitude to River’s fans! #givers4river. And to the amazing artists who created these images of River, thank you. (I don’t know exactly who to tag so, please tag yourselves in the comments.) ‘River’ album art [, by] @chris.tucci ‘Lost in Motion’ painting [, by] @jackcoulter [, and] Aleka’s Attic album cover photograph @michaelstipe.”

“LOVE is more powerful than hate. We can all do our part,” she added. “More love. Less hate. Peace. Peace. PEACE. xxx Rain.”

River’s sister then included seven quotes from her brother.

One of the quotes that she used was “‘I’ve learned that if you can’t get it all together to accomplish this thing called peace, you do at least your part in your life, because that’s where you can truly make an immediate difference.'”

In 2013, the book Last Night At The Viper Room chronicled River’s troubled final days.