Hollywood actor Val Kilmer has died aged 65, his passing reported first by the New York Times.
The actor’s daughter Mercedes said his cause of death was pneumonia. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered.
He made his big break playing Iceman in 1986’s Top Gun before going on to play rock legend Jim Morrison in The Doors.
Kilmer’s film career began with comedies including 1984’s Top Secret which was made by the team behind the Flying High / Airplane movies, and 1985’s Real Genius.
He got notable attention for his supporting role in Top Gun (1986) and became a leading man with the 1988 fantasy film Willow. Here he met future wife, Britsh actor Joanne Whalley.
His success continued with an acclaimed performance as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors (1991). Further hits included Tombstone (1993), True Romance (1993), Heat (1995) and The Ghost and the Darkness. (1996).
Kilmer took on the role of comic book dark knight Batman for the 1995 Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever.
He stepped into the role of Simon Templar in 1997 as producers attempted to bring the popular novels and television series of The Saint to the big screen, but audiences didn’t engage with the film. Kilmer continued to work constantly in Hollywood, but by the start of the new millennium he had moved out of the A-list leading man category.
In 2015 he underwent treatment for throat cancer, after chemotherapy and two tracheotomies his vocal chords were damaged and he had difficulty speaking. He made a non-speaking appearance in the 2022 sequel to Top Gun where his character Iceman was undergoing the same treatments.
He published his autobiography I’m Your Huckleberry in 2020 and also delivered an acclaimed documentary Val made from archival home movies that told his life story.
Kilmer grew up in Los Angeles, Kevin Spacey was a high school classmate, and Mare Winningham was his teenage girlfriend. He was the youngest person to be ever accepted into the drama course at the prestigious Julliard school.
Kilmer turned down appearing in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983 film The Outsiders as he had theatre commitments. He also famously turned down a part in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet.
His marriage to Joanne Whalley began in 1988, the couple divorced in 1996. He is survived by their children Mercedes and Jack.
