(HOLLYWOOD, CA – OCTOBER 18, 2005: Val Kilmer at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang’ held at the Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, USA on October 18, 2005)
Very sad to report that actor Val Kilmer died yesterday of pneumonia at the age of 65. You may remember that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer back in 2014. His vocal chords were also damaged when he had surgery on his trachea, leading the actor to struggle to speak. Kilmer end up using an electric voice box. I can only imagine the physical and emotional challenges that he was dealing with, and so it wasn’t a surprise that Kilmer took a break from Hollywood in early 2000. But how cool was it that the star would make a comeback and appear next to Tom Cruise in ‘Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022.
So many films come to mind that Kilmer showed his incredible range. He was so funny and played a smart ass perfectly in ‘Real Genius’, one of his earlier films. He showed his very dark side in flicks like, ‘Tombstone’, ‘Heat’ and ‘The Ghost And The Darkness’. But for music fans, it was Kilmer’s spot on portrayal of Jim Morrison in ‘The Doors’. He leaves behind and incredible legacy of work that fans will enjoy for years to come~
Val Kilmer, ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Batman Forever’ actor, has died at 65. His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, told ‘The New York Times’ that her father died of pneumonia on Tuesday.
He is survived by his children, Jack and Mercedes. pic.twitter.com/TiMQuL91CZ
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) April 2, 2025
(source Entertainment Tonight via X/Twitter)
If you haven’t seen the documentary, ‘VAL’ that came out on Prime Video in 2021, it’s definitely worth seeing. Kilmer loved recording with his VHS camcorder and even a 8mm camera and end up turning thousands of hours of footage into his life story. Here’s the trailer:
