‘Batman Forever’ And ‘Tombstone’ Star Val Kilmer Dies At 65
Val Kilmer, the acclaimed actor who filled the 80s and 90s with memorable performances in several blockbuster movies, has died at 65 years young. The multi-faceted star of such hits as Willow and The Ghost in the Darkness was diagnosed with throat cancer back in 2014, which went into remission.
It was followed by years of painful treatments that included a tracheostomy, which took from him his ability to speak. His daughter, Mercedes, sent an email to the New York Times stating that Kilmer had shed his mortal coil last Tuesday night in his LA home while surrounded by family and friends after succumbing to pneumonia.
Born in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve in 1959, Val Edward Kilmer’s early life had moments that were far from sunny. His parents divorced when he was a kid, and his younger brother, Wesley, died when they were teenagers after suffering an epileptic seizure in a jacuzzi and drowning. Despite this tragedy, he would go on to become the youngest student ever accepted into the drama department at Julliard School not too long afterwards.
His acting career started with roles in off-Broadway theater productions, along a guest appearance on a segment of an ABC Afterschool Special that warned children about the dangers of inebriated motorists, but that all got left in the dust when he landed his first feature role in the utterly ridiculous spy-spoof musical comedy from 1984, Top Secret!.
That was followed by another lead spot in the charmingly comedic Sci-Fi 80s college time capsule, Real Genius, in 1985. However, it was his role as assy aviator, LT Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, in Tony Scott’s 1986 classic Top Gun that launched his name into the stratosphere. The success of that film is what brought him into the public eye of worldwide audiences, and he would mesmerize critics in 1991 with his outstanding portrayal of legendary frontman, Jim Morrison, in Oliver Stone’s trippy biopic/musical, The Doors.
His success continued through the 90s with great performances and unforgettable characters such as Doc Holiday in Tombstone (1993), Chris Shiherlis in Micheal Mann’s Heat (1995), and even reuniting with Tony Scott to play the ghost of Elvis in the 1993 classic, True Romance (1993).
Most will remember Val Kilmer for playing the Caped Crusader in director Joel Schumacher’s celebration of neon lights and rubber nips, Batman Forever (1995). It was a role he would not reprise, and the movie that followed showed his decision to be along the path of wisdom, but at least his Batman didn’t go around killing a bunch of people.
The new millennium brought with it the twilight of Kilmer’s mainstream popularity, but he continued working the indie circuit and churning out the occasional banger that went straight to video.
Some of the most notable are his role as musician turned meth head in The Salton Sea (2002), ill-fated pornstar John Holmes in Wonderland (2003), and alongside crazy Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. He reprised his role as “Iceman” in the much-belated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, his final role.
The downpour of online tributes and condolences from fans has been torrential, with The Hodgeman saying “goodbye forever” to The Batman on X:
Director Michael Mann (Thief, Manhunter, Miami Vice) expressed his sorrow on Instagram and his experience with the actor:
“While working with Val on ‘Heat’ I always marveled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character,” Mann wrote. “After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”
Mann continued, “Being a serious method actor, Kilmer had a reputation of being difficult to work with. Something which several actors, and directors would attest to. While there could be some truth to these claims, one must never forget that these are Hollywood people, and they’re words should be taken with heavy doses of salt. Although, he would be more open about this later in life, and this send-off will end with what he had to say about it in his documentary, ‘Val,’ from 2021.”
Mann’s post adds in Kilmer’s own words, “I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed. And I am blessed.”
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