A DC star gone before his most legendary starring turn. A sitcom star allegedly driven
over the edge by a cruel interview. Hollywood is notorious for losing young people to addiction.
"I'm never gonna get out of this town am I, Gordie?"
"You can do anything you want man."
With critically acclaimed performances in "Stand By Me" and "My Own Private Idaho,"
River Phoenix had established himself as a respected actor by the time he was 18 years
old. He had also secured an Oscar nomination for his role in "Running on Empty." A few years later,
Phoenix and his girlfriend, Samantha Mathis, were at the Johnny Depp-owned club The Viper Room in
Hollywood. Mathis stated that she found Phoenix convulsing on the pavement outside the club.
Phoenix's brother, actor Joaquin Phoenix, called 911.
Per reports, Phoenix died at the age of 23 in the early hours of October 31,
1993 from a cocaine and heroin overdose. There was talk at the
time of murder charges being brought against the drug supplier. For a few nights after,
Depp shut down his club as fans brought flowers and mementos to memorialize the late star.
Joaquin, who won an Oscar for "Joker" in 2020,
commemorated River in his speech, and named his son River in memory of his late brother.
"I'll see ya."
"Not if I see ya first."
In 2008, 28-year-old Heath Ledger's death left a void in Hollywood. In his second to last on-screen
performance, the Australian actor brought the DC Comics villain the Joker to life in Christopher
Nolan's "The Dark Knight," which won Ledger a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor.
Ledger's interest in acting started in junior high.
After appearing in a handful of Australian television shows during the early 1990s,
he starred in the classic 1999 film "10 Things I Hate About You." From there,
his career included films like "The Patriot" in 2000 and "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005,
for which Ledger raked in nominations at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and the Oscars.
"I know I really worked…. I worked really hard to be in the position I'm in now. I really did."
On January 22, 2008, months shy of the release of "The Dark Knight,"
Ledger was found dead at his New York apartment of an accidental overdose. His masseuse found him
unresponsive. According to reports, she first called his close friend, Mary-Kate Olsen, and
then called 911. Autopsy results showed several different prescription drugs in his system.
Prior to his death, Ledger was reeling from his breakup with actor Michelle Williams,
with whom he shared a daughter, Matilda.
In all his years of fame, Cory Monteith remained candid about his experiences with
substance addiction. The Canadian actor, who gained renowned fame as Finn Hudson on the hit
show "Glee," had a troubled childhood. He had begun using drugs as a teenager,
telling Parade Magazine in a 2011 interview,
"[I was using] anything and everything, as much as possible. I had a serious problem."
By the time he was 19, Monteith had been to rehab twice.
After a period of abstinence in his 20s, Monteith began using drugs again,
and in the months prior to his death, he had reportedly checked himself back into rehab.
Monteith passed away on July 13, 2013,
at the age of 31. His body was found in a hotel room in Vancouver. According to USA Today,
the coroner's report confirmed the actor's death was due to drug toxicity that involved
heroin and alcohol. "Glee" star Lea Michele, Monteith's on-screen and off-screen partner,
was the one who unintentionally broke the tragic news to his mother.
One of the most memorable child stars from the 1970s and '80s, Dana Plato gained fame as Kimberly
Drummond on the classic sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" after stepping into showbiz at age
6. In addition to commercials for Fotomat and Wrigley, she had multiple roles for television
and film before finding big success in "Diff'rent Strokes" in 1978. While on the show as a teenager,
Plato got into drugs and alcohol, even overdosing at the age of 14, as reported by USA Today.
Plato was deep into alcoholism by the late 1980s, after the show ended.
She notoriously robbed a store in Vegas in 1991, for which she was arrested.
She later tried in vain to kickstart her failing career with B-movies in the '90s.
Plato was 34 when she died of an overdose on May 8,
1999, in Oklahoma. It was just a day after she appeared on shock jock Howard Stern's radio show,
when she swore she was off drugs during a controversial and antagonizing interview.
Her death was ruled a suicide due to the fatal doses of prescription drugs found in her system.
Almost exactly 11 years after Plato's death, her 25-year-old son also died by suicide.
Best known as the young girl from the Mel Gibson film "The Patriot," Skye McCole Bartusiak
was hailed as a talent at an early age. Even though she didn't know who she was acting with.
"I said, 'Mel, I don't know who you are.' I'm
going to give you a little bit of advice. Go on Nickelodeon."
Though only 7 years old when the film was released, she already had a few television
credits to her name, including series like "Storm of the Century" and "Judging Amy."
She had become an aspiring director who was planning to start work on her first project when
tragedy struck. On July 19, 2014, Bartusiak, just 21 years old, died in her Texas home.
Bartusiak's body was reportedly discovered by her boyfriend,
and her family believed she died of seizures and choking, per CNN. TMZ reported that she
overdosed on painkillers and muscle relaxers. Forensic reports asserted that Bartusiak's
death was an accident. Her mother told CNN that the late actor had suffered epileptic seizures
since childhood and that she had performed CPR on her daughter on multiple occasions.
"You know you make me very happy."
With just over a decade of work, Brad Renfro had established himself as a talented actor,
even as his personal life was marked by continued drug use and run-ins with the law.
He first entered the industry at 11 years old with the 1994
Joel Schumacher film "The Client." Schumacher later told Vulture,
"Brad was in trouble at 10 years old with the police already, drinking and smoking."
Renfro had a hard youth, during which he was arrested several times for buying drugs, and once,
attempting to steal a yacht. A friend of Renfro's told BuzzFeed that his mother was partly to blame
for making heroin accessible to him. For his part, Renfro was open about his problems.
"I'm glad I got arrested. Because I've learned a lot. I've learned a tremendous amount."
Following his big-screen debut,
Renfro earned accolades as the celebrated character of Huckleberry Finn in "Tom and Huck,"
with further films like "Apt Pupil" and "Bully" among his best works.
His career came to an end on January 15, 2008,
when he died of an accidental heroin overdose at age 25. The Los Angeles Times reported that
he had been clean in the days leading up to his death. Tributes poured in from Hollywood,
with Renfro's first co-star Susan Sarandon calling him the "most incredibly gifted young actor."
"Now and Then" has endured as an iconic coming-of-age flick,
even decades after we first met the girl gang of Samantha, Teeny, Roberta,
and Chrissy in 1995. The endearing character of Chrissy, played by Ashleigh Aston Moore,
immediately became an audience favorite, as did the actor herself.
The success was short-lived, however, with Moore drawing the curtains on acting by 1997.
Exactly a decade later, she was dead. Aston Moore was 26 when she reportedly
died of an accidental heroin overdose. Her co-star from the film, Thora Birch,
recalled Moore as being "a really cool kid," while speaking with ABC News, adding,
"She still lives on as Chrissy to me."
Besides "Now and Then," Aston Moore is also remembered for her roles in the 1992 series
"The Odyssey" and the 1995 film "Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues,
help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).