Father to River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix.
John Lee Bottom was born in 1947 to Robert Merrill Bottom (1917-1993) and Beulah Ernstine Ingram (1918-1980) in Stanislaus County, California. After an unhappy childhood, being a high-school dropout turned gardener, he became restless in his twenties and hit the road. In 1968, he would meet his future wife to be, Arlyn Dunetz, who was hitch-hiking around California at the time. They married on September 13, 1969, less than a year after meeting. They traveled together along the West Coast, picking fruit and vegetables along the way before the birth of their first son, River Jude, who was born in 1970.
Soon after their first daughter Rain was born in 1972, they joined the religious group The Children of God and toured Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America as Christian missionaries for several years. It was during this time that their son and daughter, Joaquin and Liberty (Libertad) were born. Arlyn and John renamed themselves for a brief period, taking the biblical names Jochebed and Amram, respectively. The couple eventually grew disillusioned with the Children of God and left in 1977. Arlyn would later state that she and her husband were opposed to the cult's increasingly distorted rules, particularly the practice of flirty fishing. They returned to the US on an ocean freighter in late 1977 and lived in Winter Park, Florida where his wife gave birth to their youngest child, Summer.
Around this time, they legally adopted the surname "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, a symbol of their fresh beginning. They also began to embrace veganism as their new diet and lifestyle. In 1978, John started his own landscape gardening business in order to keep his family afloat during their time of poverty. He worked for fourteen to fifteen hours a day while his kids helped out. However, he aggravated an old spinal injury that he sustained in his youth and was forced to give up work.
John and the family set out for California in order for the children to enter the entertainment industry. In West Los Angeles, his children would perform on the streets for crowds of people. His wife took a job at NBC and eventually secured all five Phoenix children with an agent. As his eldest son's career began to take off in the 1980's, John began to distance himself from his family's affairs as his fears about where the family was heading were largely ignored. He strongly objected to River appearing in 'A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon' for example, but was overuled by his wife. River went on to elaborate at the time:
"My father is worried that we could be ruined by this business. It's got a lot of pitfalls and temptations, and he doesn't want us to become materialistic and lose all the values we were brought up believing in. Yes, he's pleased we're doing well, but in a way he's almost reached the point of where he could just drop out again like he did in the sixties and move to a farm and get close to the earth."
By 1993, John could remain silent no longer. "I could see Hollywood was eating him up, bleeding him dry," he said. "I told him I wanted him out of movies. I had been urging him to quit for some time. I had seen too many brilliant kids go down and I realized he couldn't buck the system. I thought it was time for him to stop." By now, John had 'dropped out' and had just opened a vegan restaurant in Costa Rica. He tried to persuade River and his other children to help him run it. "I had opened my place as a vegan restaurant - and things were buzzing,"
"The idea was for them to spend more time here, helping with the cooking, making music, writing, harvesting the organic fruit and living off the land like we used to." River actually agreed. He would retire as soon as he fulfilled his duties with 'Dark Blood' and 'Interview With The Vampire'. "As it turned out - that was too many," recalled John with irony. "Just before he left, I'll always remember, he told me, 'I'll see you after this movie, Dad'. Well, he did. Only he was in a box." He went on to say: "We all feel guilt, everyone who knew River. Not a day goes by when I don't think long and hard about River's death and ask myself why."
In 1997, John and his wife divorced after 27 years of marriage. He stayed out of the limelight and worked as a carpenter for many years. He died at the age of 68 from cancer in 2015.
John Lee Bottom was born in 1947 to Robert Merrill Bottom (1917-1993) and Beulah Ernstine Ingram (1918-1980) in Stanislaus County, California. After an unhappy childhood, being a high-school dropout turned gardener, he became restless in his twenties and hit the road. In 1968, he would meet his future wife to be, Arlyn Dunetz, who was hitch-hiking around California at the time. They married on September 13, 1969, less than a year after meeting. They traveled together along the West Coast, picking fruit and vegetables along the way before the birth of their first son, River Jude, who was born in 1970.
Soon after their first daughter Rain was born in 1972, they joined the religious group The Children of God and toured Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America as Christian missionaries for several years. It was during this time that their son and daughter, Joaquin and Liberty (Libertad) were born. Arlyn and John renamed themselves for a brief period, taking the biblical names Jochebed and Amram, respectively. The couple eventually grew disillusioned with the Children of God and left in 1977. Arlyn would later state that she and her husband were opposed to the cult's increasingly distorted rules, particularly the practice of flirty fishing. They returned to the US on an ocean freighter in late 1977 and lived in Winter Park, Florida where his wife gave birth to their youngest child, Summer.
Around this time, they legally adopted the surname "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, a symbol of their fresh beginning. They also began to embrace veganism as their new diet and lifestyle. In 1978, John started his own landscape gardening business in order to keep his family afloat during their time of poverty. He worked for fourteen to fifteen hours a day while his kids helped out. However, he aggravated an old spinal injury that he sustained in his youth and was forced to give up work.
John and the family set out for California in order for the children to enter the entertainment industry. In West Los Angeles, his children would perform on the streets for crowds of people. His wife took a job at NBC and eventually secured all five Phoenix children with an agent. As his eldest son's career began to take off in the 1980's, John began to distance himself from his family's affairs as his fears about where the family was heading were largely ignored. He strongly objected to River appearing in 'A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon' for example, but was overuled by his wife. River went on to elaborate at the time:
"My father is worried that we could be ruined by this business. It's got a lot of pitfalls and temptations, and he doesn't want us to become materialistic and lose all the values we were brought up believing in. Yes, he's pleased we're doing well, but in a way he's almost reached the point of where he could just drop out again like he did in the sixties and move to a farm and get close to the earth."
By 1993, John could remain silent no longer. "I could see Hollywood was eating him up, bleeding him dry," he said. "I told him I wanted him out of movies. I had been urging him to quit for some time. I had seen too many brilliant kids go down and I realized he couldn't buck the system. I thought it was time for him to stop." By now, John had 'dropped out' and had just opened a vegan restaurant in Costa Rica. He tried to persuade River and his other children to help him run it. "I had opened my place as a vegan restaurant - and things were buzzing,"
"The idea was for them to spend more time here, helping with the cooking, making music, writing, harvesting the organic fruit and living off the land like we used to." River actually agreed. He would retire as soon as he fulfilled his duties with 'Dark Blood' and 'Interview With The Vampire'. "As it turned out - that was too many," recalled John with irony. "Just before he left, I'll always remember, he told me, 'I'll see you after this movie, Dad'. Well, he did. Only he was in a box." He went on to say: "We all feel guilt, everyone who knew River. Not a day goes by when I don't think long and hard about River's death and ask myself why."
In 1997, John and his wife divorced after 27 years of marriage. He stayed out of the limelight and worked as a carpenter for many years. He died at the age of 68 from cancer in 2015.
Father to River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix.
John Lee Bottom was born in 1947 to Robert Merrill Bottom (1917-1993) and Beulah Ernstine Ingram (1918-1980) in Stanislaus County, California. After an unhappy childhood, being a high-school dropout turned gardener, he became restless in his twenties and hit the road. In 1968, he would meet his future wife to be, Arlyn Dunetz, who was hitch-hiking around California at the time. They married on September 13, 1969, less than a year after meeting. They traveled together along the West Coast, picking fruit and vegetables along the way before the birth of their first son, River Jude, who was born in 1970.
Soon after their first daughter Rain was born in 1972, they joined the religious group The Children of God and toured Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America as Christian missionaries for several years. It was during this time that their son and daughter, Joaquin and Liberty (Libertad) were born. Arlyn and John renamed themselves for a brief period, taking the biblical names Jochebed and Amram, respectively. The couple eventually grew disillusioned with the Children of God and left in 1977. Arlyn would later state that she and her husband were opposed to the cult's increasingly distorted rules, particularly the practice of flirty fishing. They returned to the US on an ocean freighter in late 1977 and lived in Winter Park, Florida where his wife gave birth to their youngest child, Summer.
Around this time, they legally adopted the surname "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, a symbol of their fresh beginning. They also began to embrace veganism as their new diet and lifestyle. In 1978, John started his own landscape gardening business in order to keep his family afloat during their time of poverty. He worked for fourteen to fifteen hours a day while his kids helped out. However, he aggravated an old spinal injury that he sustained in his youth and was forced to give up work.
John and the family set out for California in order for the children to enter the entertainment industry. In West Los Angeles, his children would perform on the streets for crowds of people. His wife took a job at NBC and eventually secured all five Phoenix children with an agent. As his eldest son's career began to take off in the 1980's, John began to distance himself from his family's affairs as his fears about where the family was heading were largely ignored. He strongly objected to River appearing in 'A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon' for example, but was overuled by his wife. River went on to elaborate at the time:
"My father is worried that we could be ruined by this business. It's got a lot of pitfalls and temptations, and he doesn't want us to become materialistic and lose all the values we were brought up believing in. Yes, he's pleased we're doing well, but in a way he's almost reached the point of where he could just drop out again like he did in the sixties and move to a farm and get close to the earth."
By 1993, John could remain silent no longer. "I could see Hollywood was eating him up, bleeding him dry," he said. "I told him I wanted him out of movies. I had been urging him to quit for some time. I had seen too many brilliant kids go down and I realized he couldn't buck the system. I thought it was time for him to stop." By now, John had 'dropped out' and had just opened a vegan restaurant in Costa Rica. He tried to persuade River and his other children to help him run it. "I had opened my place as a vegan restaurant - and things were buzzing,"
"The idea was for them to spend more time here, helping with the cooking, making music, writing, harvesting the organic fruit and living off the land like we used to." River actually agreed. He would retire as soon as he fulfilled his duties with 'Dark Blood' and 'Interview With The Vampire'. "As it turned out - that was too many," recalled John with irony. "Just before he left, I'll always remember, he told me, 'I'll see you after this movie, Dad'. Well, he did. Only he was in a box." He went on to say: "We all feel guilt, everyone who knew River. Not a day goes by when I don't think long and hard about River's death and ask myself why."
In 1997, John and his wife divorced after 27 years of marriage. He stayed out of the limelight and worked as a carpenter for many years. He died at the age of 68 from cancer in 2015.
John Lee Bottom was born in 1947 to Robert Merrill Bottom (1917-1993) and Beulah Ernstine Ingram (1918-1980) in Stanislaus County, California. After an unhappy childhood, being a high-school dropout turned gardener, he became restless in his twenties and hit the road. In 1968, he would meet his future wife to be, Arlyn Dunetz, who was hitch-hiking around California at the time. They married on September 13, 1969, less than a year after meeting. They traveled together along the West Coast, picking fruit and vegetables along the way before the birth of their first son, River Jude, who was born in 1970.
Soon after their first daughter Rain was born in 1972, they joined the religious group The Children of God and toured Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America as Christian missionaries for several years. It was during this time that their son and daughter, Joaquin and Liberty (Libertad) were born. Arlyn and John renamed themselves for a brief period, taking the biblical names Jochebed and Amram, respectively. The couple eventually grew disillusioned with the Children of God and left in 1977. Arlyn would later state that she and her husband were opposed to the cult's increasingly distorted rules, particularly the practice of flirty fishing. They returned to the US on an ocean freighter in late 1977 and lived in Winter Park, Florida where his wife gave birth to their youngest child, Summer.
Around this time, they legally adopted the surname "Phoenix" after the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, a symbol of their fresh beginning. They also began to embrace veganism as their new diet and lifestyle. In 1978, John started his own landscape gardening business in order to keep his family afloat during their time of poverty. He worked for fourteen to fifteen hours a day while his kids helped out. However, he aggravated an old spinal injury that he sustained in his youth and was forced to give up work.
John and the family set out for California in order for the children to enter the entertainment industry. In West Los Angeles, his children would perform on the streets for crowds of people. His wife took a job at NBC and eventually secured all five Phoenix children with an agent. As his eldest son's career began to take off in the 1980's, John began to distance himself from his family's affairs as his fears about where the family was heading were largely ignored. He strongly objected to River appearing in 'A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon' for example, but was overuled by his wife. River went on to elaborate at the time:
"My father is worried that we could be ruined by this business. It's got a lot of pitfalls and temptations, and he doesn't want us to become materialistic and lose all the values we were brought up believing in. Yes, he's pleased we're doing well, but in a way he's almost reached the point of where he could just drop out again like he did in the sixties and move to a farm and get close to the earth."
By 1993, John could remain silent no longer. "I could see Hollywood was eating him up, bleeding him dry," he said. "I told him I wanted him out of movies. I had been urging him to quit for some time. I had seen too many brilliant kids go down and I realized he couldn't buck the system. I thought it was time for him to stop." By now, John had 'dropped out' and had just opened a vegan restaurant in Costa Rica. He tried to persuade River and his other children to help him run it. "I had opened my place as a vegan restaurant - and things were buzzing,"
"The idea was for them to spend more time here, helping with the cooking, making music, writing, harvesting the organic fruit and living off the land like we used to." River actually agreed. He would retire as soon as he fulfilled his duties with 'Dark Blood' and 'Interview With The Vampire'. "As it turned out - that was too many," recalled John with irony. "Just before he left, I'll always remember, he told me, 'I'll see you after this movie, Dad'. Well, he did. Only he was in a box." He went on to say: "We all feel guilt, everyone who knew River. Not a day goes by when I don't think long and hard about River's death and ask myself why."
In 1997, John and his wife divorced after 27 years of marriage. He stayed out of the limelight and worked as a carpenter for many years. He died at the age of 68 from cancer in 2015.
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