About the Book

In Last Night at the Viper Room, acclaimed author and journalist Gavin Edwards vividly recounts the life and tragic death of acclaimed actor River Phoenix—a teen idol on the fast track to Hollywood royalty who died of a drug overdose in front of West Hollywood’s storied club, the Viper Room, at the age of 23.

Last Night at the Viper Room explores the young star’s life, including his childhood in Venezuela growing up under the aegis of the cultish Children of God. Putting him at the center of a new generation of leading men emerging in the early 1990s— including Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage, and Leonardo DiCaprio—Gavin Edwards traces the Academy Award nominee’s meteoric rise, couches him in an examination of the 1990s, and illuminates his lasting legacy on Hollywood and popular culture itself.

Critical Praise

“Twenty years after his death, River Phoenix remains as enigmatic and elusive as ever. Last Night at the Viper Room tells the heart-shredding story of how this haunted actor left such a big impression in such a brief time.” — Rob Sheffield, New York Times bestselling author of Love Is a Mix Tape

“What Edwards does do impeccably is reveal the life of an extraordinary young man, whose idealism and dedication to his family, despite crippling childhood conditions, set him apart from the rest of the rising star pack.” — USA Today

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Product Details

• ISBN: 9780062273178
• ISBN 10: 0062273175
• Imprint: Dey Street Books
• On Sale: 10/21/2014
• Trimsize: 5.310 in (w) x 8.000 in (h) x 0.650 in (d)
• Pages: 288
• List Price: $16.99
• BISAC1 : PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / General
• BISAC2 : PERFORMING ARTS / Theater / General
• BISAC3 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Composers & Musicians
• BISAC4 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Entertainment & Performing Arts
• BISAC5 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Rich & Famous
• BISAC6 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture
• BISAC7 : SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General
• BISAC8 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women
• BISAC9 : BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
• BISAC10 : HISTORY / Women