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The nightclub where River Phoenix died.

Place of Interest in West Hollywood, California, United States.

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River Phoenix nightclub death location.

This is the location where Hollywood actor River Phoenix died from a drug overdose.

The Viper Nightclub is situated on Sunset Boulevard in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

On the night of October 30th, 1993, River Phoenix attended the nightclub with his girlfriend, Samantha Mathis, his brother Joaquin, and his sister Rain.

The club, which was partially-owned by his friend and fellow actor, Johnny Depp, was a popular spot for young celebrities who wanted to kick back and enjoy themselves without having to worry about the paparazzi.

In the months leading up to his death, River had remained sober by focusing on his latest movie, Dark Blood, which was being filmed in Utah.

However, he quickly fell off the wagon and started abusing drugs again when he returned to Hollywood on October 26th, 1993.

Shortly after his return, he reportedly went on a drug binge with John Frusciante, who was a guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Although his girlfriend stated that she didn't see him taking any drugs at the Viper Nightclub, she did notice that something wasn't right.

Mathis was aware that he seemed high. However, her suspicions were somewhat dampened by the fact that she had very little experience with that kind of lifestyle.

Unbeknownst to her, her boyfriend had taken a large quantity of heroin and cocaine, as well as a number of other substances.

At one point during the night, River told punk rock singer Bob Forrest that he thought he was overdosing. When Forrest offered to give him a ride home, the actor declined and stated that he was starting to feel better.

Shortly afterwards, River got into an altercation with another man. When a bouncer noticed the fracas, he separated the two men and escorted them out of the side door of the nightclub.

After seeing her boyfriend being kicked out, Mathis went outside to see what was going on. At that point, River fell to the ground and started convulsing.

Because the side door had been shut behind them, she had to rush around to the main entrance and reenter the club from the front.

Once inside, she pushed her way through the crowds of the Viper Room and located River's brother, Phoenix.

Phoenix, who was understandably shocked and upset, called 911 and sobbed down the phone, begging them to get there quickly.

When news of the incident reached River's friends inside the club, they started to pile out onto the sidewalk. By that stage, the paramedics had already arrived and were attempting to restart his heart.

According to onlookers, the 23-year-old was unresponsive and starting to turn blue.

When all attempts to resuscitate him on the sidewalk failed, the paramedics put him into the ambulance and then raced to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Beverly Boulevard.

Sadly, the doctors at Cedars-Sinair were unable to save the actor's life.

At exactly 1:51 a.m. on October 31st, 1993, River Phoenix was pronounced dead.

Where did River Phoenix die?

Below, you will find the address and the GPS coordinates for this location.

GPS coordinates.

The latitude and longitude coordinates for the nightclub are:

34.090485, -118.384734

Map.

To view directions on how to get there, you can use the Google Maps shortcut below:

Google Maps Link

Address.

The full address for this location is:

The Viper Room
8852 Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood
California
CA 90069
United States

Directions.

The "Viper Room" nightclub is situated near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Larrabee Street in West Hollywood. The area is known as the Sunset Strip. It lies to the east of Beverly Hills.

Photos.

Photos of the nightclub and other related images.


The Viper Room.

The Viper Room

This Google Street View image of the Viper Room nightclub was taken in March of 2018.

The main entrance is on the "Sunset Strip," which is a section of Sunset Boulevard that runs through West Hollywood.

During the 1970s and 1980s, it was a jazz club called "The Central." However, as time wore on, its popularity wained and it eventually fell on hard times.

When actors Johnny Depp and Sal Jenco learned from a friend that the club was close to shutting down, they decided to purchase it and redevelop it into something new.

In 1993, the pair reopened it as the "Viper Room".

Because of Depp's fame, it instantly became a trendy spot where the young actors and musicians of Hollywood could hang out together.

The club remained popular, even in the aftermath of River Phoenix's death.

In 2001, one of the club's co-owners, Anthony Fox, mysteriously vanished without a trace. Following a lawsuit, Johnny Depp agreed to sign over his interests in the club to Fox's daughter.

The side door of the club.

River Phoenix death location

This is a Google Street View image of the eastern side of the property, which faces Larrabee Street.

We have circled the side door in red.

On the night of October 30th, 1993, River Phoenix was pushed out of this side door by a bouncer after he reportedly got into an altercation with another man.

Shortly afterwards, he fell to the sidewalk and started convulsing.

According to River's girlfriend, Samantha Mathis (pictured top right), she decided to follow him outside to see what was happening. At that point, she saw that River was having a seizure and attempted to go back inside to raise the alarm.

Because the side door had been shut behind them, she had to run around to the front of the Viper Room and enter the club via the main entrance.

Aerial image.

Aerial image

This is an aerial image of the club.

The main entrance is on Sunset Boulevard. However, the side door that River Phoenix was pushed out of is situated on Larrabee Street.

This location belongs to the following categories:

CelebritiesHollywood Death Locations
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