River Phoenix

* In response to “Drug Overdose Killed Phoenix, Coroner Says,” Nov. 13:

Please do not use the word overdose to describe what happened to River Phoenix and to thousands of others like him. Overdose implies that there is a safe and appropriate level of recreational drug use, which Phoenix exceeded. This is the myth that is destroying our young people, whether Hollywood stars or street kids.

In reality there is only one safe dose: zero. Anything more than that is drug abuse, which kills.

SIMON LeVAY

West Hollywood

* Well, aren’t we all surprised! Another actor wasn’t what he seemed to be. From a Boy Scout in “Indiana Jones” to flopping around near death on a sidewalk in Hollywood from a massive drug overdose. Hey, that’s what they pay actors for, to convince us ticket buyers and TV viewers that they are something they are not. The number of actors and actresses that are in life what they appear to be on the screen has to be very small. They are the exception, not the rule.

Do we really expect some sort of value system from an industry where ratings and the almighty dollar rule? Why do the parents of these young people give up the responsibility of raising their children to the emotional and mental vampires in charge of the film industry? The answer . . . money and the pursuit of more.

The death of River Phoenix is only a tragedy in the sense that any young person’s needless and preventable death is a tragedy. Unfortunately there is always another one waiting in the wings willing to do whatever it takes to be a star.

CHRISTOPHER SMITH

Camarillo