How River Phoenix KNEW he was suffering an overdose the night he died: Friend reveals the actor's harrowing last few minutes before he collapsed at Johnny Depp's LA nightclub almost 20 years ago

Tragic: River Phoenix pictured here in 1991 was tipped for mega-stardom before his death two years later from a drugs overdose in LA

River Phoenix knew he was experiencing an overdose from a deadly cocktail of cocaine and heroin the night of his death at Johnny Depp's Los Angeles nightclub claims a friend of the actor who was there that fateful evening.



As the world prepares to mark 20-years since the death of Phoenix at the tragically young age of 23, his friend and former Helonious Monster front-man Bob Forrest has revealed the harrowing last moments before the actor collapsed.



Unsteady on his feet and ghostly white, Forrest recalls how Phoenix turned to him on Halloween, 1993 and pleaded, 'I don't feel so good. I think I'm OD'ing' before he returned to the crowd to hear Depp's band play to only fall into a fit minutes later.



Describing Phoenix, the critically acclaimed star of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and Stand By Me, as a frustrated rock star, Forrest said that in the days leading up to his death he had fallen in with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante.



The two would take large amounts of drugs together, embarking on huge binges.



'River stayed with John for the next few days, and probably didn’t get a minute of sleep,' Forrest writes in his forthcoming book Running With Monsters according to The New York Post.



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Hollywood, Los Angeles, California: 1993 - Tributes to River Phoenix outside The Viper Room - the club owned by Johnny Depp where the 23-year-old actor died on October 31st

'The drug routine stayed pretty consistent for all of us. First, smoke crack or shoot coke directly into a vein for that ninety-second, electric brain-bell jangle.



'Then shoot heroin to get a grip and come down enough to be able to carry on a conversation for a few minutes before you start the cycle again.'

Commenting that while Phoenix maintained an image of a hippie vegan pacifist, the reality of his drug taking was much darker.



On the night that he died, 'River and John stumbled in' to The Viper Room, writes Forrest.



The pair met up with Phoenix's brother, Joaquin, their sister Rain and Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea and Johnny Depp.

Memoir: Musician Bob Forrest in 2011- the former Thelonious Monster frontman has written a new book in which he recounts the untimely death of his friend River Phoenix (right) pictured in 1991

Musician and Actor: River Phoenix was watching his friend Johnny Depp play with his band on the evening of his death

Forrest alleges that as soon as Phoenix and Frusciante arrived, cocaine was immediately passed around, but that the promising actors condition startled him.



'River was obviously wasted and was as unsteady as a boxer who had taken one too many head-shots during a fifteen-round bout,' Forrest writes.



It was during the performance by Depp's band that Phoenix tapped Forrest on the shoulder to tell him that he was not feeling well.



'Bob,' he said, 'I don’t feel so good. I think I’m OD’ing.'

Band Mates: John Frusciante (left) and Flea (right) of the Red Hot Chili Pepper were with River Phoenix on the night of his death in 1993

Actor Joaquin Phoenix (R) and sister Rain Phoenix pictured in 2007 - Both were present with their brother River when he tragically overdosed on drugs and died on Halloween 1993

However, Forrest claims that Phoenix rallied and re-entered the crowd, but a only a few moments later, a frantic shout went out over the music to call 911.



Phoenix was taken outside, onto the sidewalk and was seizing. When the ambulance arrived Phoenix was still alive and Flea went with the stricken actor to Cedar-Sinai Hospital.



However, when Forrest arrived there having driven himself, he saw Samantha Mathis, the girlfriend of River Phoenix standing in the hallway of the hospital, crying.



It was at this moment that he knew his friend was dead.



Sadly, Depp phoned and asked Forrest, 'How's your friend?' Not realizing that the patient was his good friend Phoenix.

