Popularity, money and death: the dark secrets of The Viper Room club from the 90s

In the 90s, The Viper Room nightclub was a favorite place of entertainment for many stars. In 1993, it was created by Johnny Depp as a venue for rock concerts. Just a few months after the opening of the institution, the famous actor River Phoenix died on his doorstep. Despite this, the club was rapidly gaining popularity among young celebrities. Frequent guests here were Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston and Uma Thurman. Find out what dark secrets the cult place of Hollywood's golden youth of the 90s hid from our material.

Johnny Depp opened The Viper Room club on Sunset Boulevard in August 1993 with actor Sal Genko. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers played at the opening party. After a while, the stage of the institution became a regular venue for performances by The Pussycat Dolls.

The popular nightclub soon received the title of a cult place, but behind its doors lurked dark stories related to drugs, deaths and mysterious disappearances of people.

The most high-profile tragedy associated with The Viper Room club was the death of actor River Phoenix in 1993. At the age of 23, at the peak of popularity, the actor died on the threshold of the institution on Halloween evening in front of his brother Joaquin. The brother tried to call 911, seeing River dying in convulsions on the sidewalk.

A tribute to the memory of River Phoenix in the walls of the institution

They say that a few minutes before his death, the actor snorted heroin in a club. Then he threw up, and they gave him valium to take. River Phoenix began to choke and went outside to get some fresh air. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the young actor.

Johnny Depp and Kate Moss at the club 

Two years after the death of River Phoenix, Australian actor and singer Jason Donovan almost died after taking drugs in a club bar. He was having fun at a party organized by supermodel Kate Moss, who was dating Johnny Depp at the time. The famous Australian told about what happened in his autobiography a few years later, when he confessed to drug addiction.

Courtney Love in The Viper Room

The regulars of The Viper Room club were promising actors, musicians, singers. The stars secretly played poker here, making huge bets. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as other Hollywood stars, participated in underground gambling.

The cult institution was at the peak of popularity when it belonged to Johnny Depp. Since then, several owners have changed, and the club has changed. This building is one of the oldest on Sunset Boulevard. In the 1920s, there was a grocery store in it. They say that The Viper Room club was named after a group of musicians who smoked marijuana, who called themselves "Vipers".

Juliette Lewis during a performance at the club

Despite the fact that the popular hangout place was presented as a music venue, it had an impressive whiskey bar. Metal and punk rock were mostly played here, but The Pussycat Dolls band often appeared on the stage-from 1995 to 2001.

Now the club is managed by the company Ltd. CEO James Coop­er and Sil­ver Creek Devel­op­ment. Johnny Depp sold the establishment after his business partner mysteriously disappeared. Co-owner Anthony Fox sued the actor, accusing him of fraud and misuse of funds in 2000. After long legal proceedings, Fox inexplicably disappeared in December 2011. His abandoned van was found in Santa Clara, California, but the man himself was never found.

Scarlett Johansson performs with The Pussycat Dolls in 2004

Popularity and success often go side by side with harmful addictions to drugs, alcohol and gambling. Unfortunately, the famous club The Viper Room was no exception, becoming famous as a place where the stars secretly indulged in destructive addictions.

In parallel with the hangouts in Los Angeles, in the 90s, nightlife was also booming in New York. Among the golden youth of the metropolis, the most liberated and extravagant were the "Club Kids".