Val Kilmer, the celebrated actor known for intensely committing to his performances and for starring roles in films like “Tombstone,” “Top Gun,” “The Doors” and more, died Tuesday from complications of pneumonia. He was 65.
His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, made the news public.
A Los Angeles native born in 1959, Kilmer grew up in the San Fernando Valley and as a teenager set a record as the youngest student to be accepted into the Julliard school of Drama (the record was broken by Seth Numrich.)
Kilmer pursued a stage career when he started acting professionally in the early 80s, but launched his film career with “Top Secret!” a parody of both World War II dramas and musical comedies starring Elvis Presley directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, the team behind “Airplane!”
The film, though considered a bomb, showcased Kilmer’s matinee idol looks, impeccable comic timing but also his versatile singing voice, skills that defined much of his career over the next decade and change.
His next film was the science fiction/college comedy “Real Genius” in 1985, another flop that very quickly became a beloved cult classic celebrated in large part for Kilmer’s witty performance as a tortured, sarcastic math genius tricked into making weapons of war.
But it was Kilmer’s third film that served as his breakthrough, the Tom Cruise-starring blockbuster “Top Gun.” Kilmer played Iceman, the severe, by-the-book rival to Cruise’s Maverick. He reprised the role in the 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”
This launched Kilmer into a decade of movie stardom he never seemed entirely comfortable with but nevertheless projects he threw his all into.
Among them, he played a rogueish swordsman in Ron Howard’s lighthearted 1987 fantasy film, “Willow,” delivered an uncannily accurate depiction as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors,” gave a career-defining performance as John Henry “Doc” Holliday in the western “Tombstone” in 1993 and that same year practically stole “True Romance” out from under his castmates playing an imaginary Elvis who can only be seen by the main character, Clarence (Christian Slater).
His matinee idol years reached their peak in 1995, when he took over for Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman in 1995’s “Batman Forever.” That year he also appeared in Michael Mann’s legendary crime drama “Heat,” starred opposite Marlon Brando in the much-maligned cult classic adaptation of “The Island of Dr. Moreau” in 1996 and in 1997 toplined a blockbuster movie version of the 1960s British spy TV show “The Saint.”
Only getting busier in the 2000s, Kilmer’s output included major productions and more indie or outsider far, ranging from “Red Planet” (2000) and “The Salton Sea” (2002) to “Alexander” (2004), “Kiss Kiss Bang Band” (2005) and “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” (2009). All total, he appeared in at least 80 different films, alongside numerous TV appearances and occasional theatrical starring roles.
He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, and though he was able to successfully treat it, it resulted in his voice being reduced to a rasp, and him requiring the use of an electric voice box when speaking in public. His struggle was detailed in the 2021 documentary “Val,” narrated by his son Jack.
Notably, his actual speaking voice was used in “Top Gun: Maverick,” though it was digitally adjusted for clarity.
Known for dating numerous famous women, Kilmer was married once, from 1988 to 1996 to Joanne Whalley, his co-star in “Willow.” They had two children, Mercedes and Jack.