Val Kilmer: beloved star of Batman Forever, The Doors and many more dead at 65

Val Kilmer, one of the biggest stars of the eighties and nineties, has passed away at only 65 years old. The news was first reported by the New York Times, which says the actor died after a battle with pneumonia. Kilmer’s health had been fragile in recent years, with a long battle with throat cancer robbing him of his voice, with him looped in many of his more recent films, including in Top Gun: Maverick, where he reprised Iceman in a bittersweet turn. 

Kilmer’s health battles were immortalized in the terrific documentary Val, which was narrated by his son Jack Kilmer (also an actor), who sounded uncannily like his father. Kilmer began his career as a heartthrob in eighties movies, with him memorable in the comedy classic (which we immortalized here with a Best Movie You Never Saw episode) Top Secret. From there, he played a memorable “frenemy” to Tom Cruise’s Maverick in Tony Scott’s Top Gun before being launched as a matinee idol hero in Lucasfilm’s Willow. 

Arguably, Kilmer’s greatest period was the first half of the nineties, with him memorably playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors. Following that, he delivered an iconic performance as Doc Holiday in Tombstone before signing on to play the Caped Crusader in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever. That hit movie would mark his only time playing Bruce Wayne, but he also had a significant role in Michael Mann’s Heat, where he managed to more than hold his own opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Kilmer would re-team with Mann on Collateral, as well as with Tony Scott on Deja Vu and Ron Howard on The Missing. While he sometimes had a reputation for being difficult, with the legendarily fraught production of The Island of Dr Moreau being noteworthy, Kilmer was often highly praised by his directors and seemed more passionate than anything else. Other highlights include The Ghost and the Darkness (another Best Movie You Never Saw fave), The Saint, Wonderland, and many others.

Of course, cancer robbed him of his acting career. He lost his voice due to throat cancer when he was shooting The Snowman and was dubbed in the finished film and all subsequent films. Truly, Kilmer was an icon and will remain a legend for his decades of top-notch work on screen. Rest in peace, sir.

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