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River Phoenix Eulogy Final

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River Phoenix Eulogy Final Maggie Lloyd Ceremonial Speech Hi everyone, my name is Maggie. Some of you may be unfamiliar with the life of River Phoenix and his tragic overdose on October 31, 1993. River Phoenix was America’s golden boy--not just another good-looking Hollywood child-star. It is true that he was a man on the rise: He received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations before the age of 20 and at the time of his death directors sought after him to star in what would become some of America’s most well known movies including, The Basketball Diaries, Total Eclipse, and Titanic. Ironically, all of these parts went to Leonardo DiCaprio after River’s untimely death. At just 15 River was moving viewers to tears with his performance in the Stephen King film, Stand By Me. His noteworthy portrayal of friendship in this film is a reflection of the genuine, caring friend he was in real life. This thoughtful disposition of his is what I want you all to remember. Beyond all of these accomplishments I have listed, what I would like you all to understand is that River was a caring and passionate person. It seems like everyone who came in contact with River Phoenix respected where he was heading in life. He was devoted to his passions. He had a love for music and a love for this earth. River popularized veganism and won PETA’S humanitarian award in 1992. Even at a young age, he passionately devoted his time to bettering the world. That is why it was such a shock when tragedy struck. River overdosed outside of the now infamous nightclub, the Viper Room, which was owned by Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp himself did a great job describing the pain of this loss saying, “The thing is, he came with his guitar to the club. You could cut me open and vomit in my chest because that kid…what a beautiful thing that he shows up with his girl on one arm and his guitar on the other. He came to play and he didn’t think he was going to die—nobody thinks they’re going to die. He wanted to have a good time…But that’s the thing that breaks my heart, first that he died, but also that he showed up with his guitar, you know? That’s not an unhappy kid.” Depp’s words are truly a reminder of what a tragic loss this was. Happiness is something we could all use a little more of in our lives. River, be it through his music, his touching portrayals in film, or his dedication to helping those around him, always found a way to make others smile. He had a passion for making others happy and he cared enough to share that passion with the whole world. So, when we lost River, many of us lost this smile he provided. However, if there is anything uplifting we can take from Depp’s analysis of the tragedy it is this--River was happy up until the minute he died; don’t we all wish that for ourselves? River was only 23 when he died, but maybe that is all the time he needed. His family and friends, who I am sure miss him everyday, are still inspired by River’s dedication to bettering the world. In 2011, Heart Phoenix established the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding. Its goal is to teach nonviolent solutions to conflict. Twenty years after his death and River is still inspiring people to spread the peace and show people that humans are capable of caring. River’s family is in the public eye a lot, especially his siblings Rain and Joaquin, who have had successful careers of their own. What many people do not know is that until 1978, their last name was Bottom. The change to Phoenix was in honor of the mythical bird that rises from the ashes. The Bottoms had escaped a cult and changed their name to honor a new beginning. So for those of you who started this day unaware of who River Phoenix was, perhaps now his legacy can rise back up from the ashes and live on in all of us who will never forget how caring and passionate this young man was. References: "Johnny Depp Talks About His Past." Johnny Depp Talks About His Past. Depp Impact. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. "River Phoenix Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. "River Phoenix's Tragic Overdose: Dan Aykroyd Warned Him About Heroin Dependency." Vanity Fair. Web. 11 Sept. 2014. .
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