In Reply to: you got it right posted by visiting again on November 06, 2003 at 13:42:52:
I just remember being really sad when River Phoenix died. I wasn't involved with any of the cult or anti-cult stuff at that time. I just thought he was a natural as an actor. I especially enjoyed him in "Stand by Me" and "Running on Empty".
Later on, he did seem to become very dark. I've lived in L.A. for about 40 years, and have worked in the entertainment biz on and off. I've seen that kind of thing before with young people who hit it big out of nowhere.