
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 2, 1993                   TAG: 9311020199
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

DRUGS THE CAUSE OF ACTOR'S DEATH?

The untimely death of actor River Phoenix remained cloaked in mystery Monday, as an autopsy failed to address an anguished statement by the young star's brother that drugs may have contributed to his sudden collapse, authorities said.

Phoenix, who rose to fame as a teen-aged actor in the 1986 coming-of-age film "Stand By Me," fell into a violent seizure and died early Sunday outside a Sunset Strip nightclub where a Halloween party was in full swing. Officials at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said he arrived in full cardiac arrest, with no pulse or blood pressure.

In a frantic call to paramedics, Phoenix's brother, who had helped him out of the club only to watch him collapse on the sidewalk, told a dispatcher that the 23-year-old actor may have ingested "Valium or something," according to a tape of the 911 call he placed.

A TV newsmagazine, quoting an anonymous hospital source, also reported that cocaine and Valium were detected in a routine blood work-up done at the Cedars-Sinai emergency room.

But officials at the hospital refused to confirm the report, and those who knew Phoenix said the reports were difficult to reconcile with his reputation for clean living and dedicated professionalism.

A strict vegetarian who would not eat meat or dairy products or wear leather, Phoenix was known for his adamance about pure living, colleagues said.

Los Angeles County Coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier said an autopsy performed Monday was "inconclusive as to the cause of death" and offered no clues except for a lack of blockage of major arteries, which would indicate that he did not die of heart disease or massive stroke. Carrier said further toxicological tests would better address the drug question, but those tests will not be available for at least another week to 10 days.

by CNB