Whatever Happened to the Cast of ‘Stand By Me’?

2. River Phoenix (Chris Chambers)

In the second lead, River Phoenix kind of stole the show as the cigarette-smoking kid with the troubled homelife who played on screen like a 12-year-old James Dean. The sky was the limit for River Phoenix. After Stand By Me, the young actor quickly gained a reputation for his impressive talent, pulling off solid supporting roles in both Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and My Own Private Idaho. Unfortunately, the burgeoning actor’s promise was cut short when Phoenix overdosed on a lethal combination of morphine, cocaine, and alcohol on October 30, 1993 outside Los Angeles’ famed Viper Room. Phoenix’s brother, Joaquin — who’s since gone on to win great acclaim as an actor himself, appearing in films like Her and The Master — and his sister, Rain, were at the scene of his tragic death.