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I was born just two months before River Phoenix in 1970. So as River Phoenix grew up in front of the camera acting in films, I grew up watching his films.By High School I had a pretty big crush on River like a lot of other American girls.
So I would say from about age 14 in 1984 until age 23 in 1993 - a span of just 9 years - I followed his career very closely and watched most of his interviews on television when I was able to.
Then after seeing Phoenix' second-to-the-last completed film, Sneakers, I became even more interested in watching his interviews about the film because the film took place in Oakland, CA - the area where I grew up - and it was about a group of computer hackers and I just happened to come from a family of computer nerds living adjacent to the Silicon Valley, so I was a huge fan at the time.
Well there is something that has always haunted me and that is one of Phoenix' final interviews which, if I remember correctly, took place sometime during the last couple of years of his life - it probably would have been 1992 or 1993, and it was definitely with David Letterman (who I was also a huge fan of at the time).
Now during that time David Letterman was winding up his first well-known show, NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, which broadcast from 1982 until 1993. Then just two months before Phoenix' death Dave began a new (but nearly identical) show, CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, from August 30, 1993 until May 20, 2015.
Whichever of the two shows it was on, River Phoenix said something shocking to David Letterman. For those who aren't old enough to remember, Phoenix was an early example of an actor-turned-activist. He wrote an article for 17 Magazine on Earth Day in 1990. He was also covered by Vegetarian Times and The Animals' Voice Magazine.
Well during this interview, Phoenix started going on a rant about evil multi-national corporations, particularly, General Electric. Funny enough this memory is still firmly implanted in my mind since this was the first time I remember hearing the bad news about G.E. in my early twenties.
I still have a vivid memory of David Letterman telling River that it's funny he should mention that since General Electric actually owns N.B.C. the station that Phoenix was being interviewed on, and so while I am writing this I just realized that that dates the show sometime prior to Dave's N.B.C. show, which ended in August of 1993, just two months before Phoenix' death on Halloween night in 1993.
Now, I could be wrong, but I always remembered this as being an interview about the film Sneakers which would have put this during the last two years of Phoenix' life but regardless of which film he was being interviewed for, the fact is that I cannot find any trace of River Phoenix ever having appeared on Late Night with David Letterman.
What is also interesting is that I cannot find any real interviews of River Phoenix anywhere on the Internet past 1991. One small exception is a clip from a film promo for Sneakers labeled on YouTube as an interview but it was really just a brief film promo produced by the filmmakers. River Phoenix released two major Hollywood films during the last two years of his life, Sneakers, released September 2, 1992 and The Thing Called Love, released July 16, 1993.
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You would think that it would be easier to find archival footage of Phoenix' interviews during '92 or '93 since those were the early days of the internet and yet when you do a search for his interviews it brings of tons of interviews from the pre-internet days such as 1988 and 1991.
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The only results for 1993 are reports about his death even though he died at the end of the year on Halloween. What about interviews for 1993's The Thing Called Love with Samantha Mathis? Even her old interviews easily pop up without digging - and I didn't even put her name on the search below, just River's.
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I've also combed through lists of episodes on various sites that log every actor and guest on every episode of a television show and cannot locate any record of my memory.
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This memory has remained vivid throughout my life. I am 47 now but River Phoenix outspokenness and activism had a big impact on me during my formative years so I remember his infamous comments on David Letterman very well.
After 2016's "Pizzagate" story broke and transformed into the bigger-picture investigation known as "Pedogate," people started thinking of River Phoenix again since he was notoriously raised by the Children of God cult in Oregon, a cult known for sexually abusing children. People were wondering if he was killed by the cult.
I have personally wondered for years if he was added to the "expendable" list for sacrifice due to his "mistake" of biting the hand the fed him, i.e. knowingly, or unkowingly, insulting General Electric while he was appearing on their network.
Recent research this year (2017) has linked Phoenix death to Johnny Depp's rise to fame. Perhaps the Powers-that-shoudn't-be gave Johnny the go-ahead after Phoenix' remarks.
SEE:
Chris Cornell 6 Degrees of Separation from River Phoenix
http://themetalden.com/?p=59302
Must Watch! Johnny Depp Exposed as Pedophile Satanist
https://youtu.be/p6D_WHGFztg
If anyone else remembers this interview, or thinks they might have some old VHS tapes that might have evidence of this interview, please post anything you can find or remember to the comments below, or link to any uploads you may have.
Thanks!
