Val Kilmer, Star of Top Gun and Heat, Dies at 65
Hollywood actor Val Kilmer died Tuesday night in Los Angeles at the age of 65.
The actor’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed his cause of death Wednesday to The New York Times, telling press the actor died of pneumonia following a long series of health battles.
Kilmer rose to stardom in the 1980s as Iceman in Top Gun, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Tom Cruise.
He would become one of the most mercurial figures in 1990s Hollywood — an actor known as much for his on-set clashes as his enigmatic performances in films like Heat and Batman Forever.
His final role brought him full circle in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, where he reprised one of his most iconic roles.
Tributes from the entertainment world poured in as Hollywood A-listers learned of his death.
Heat director Michael Mann reflected that he’d “always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.”
Fellow actor and longtime friend Josh Brolin called Kilmer “a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,” adding: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you.”
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Kilmer had previously battled throat cancer, a fight laid bare in the 2021 documentary Val, which traced the actor’s tracheotomy, loss of voice, and eventual re-emergence as a voice for cancer awareness.
Kilmer had seemed to regain strength, even recently posting a nostalgic video reflecting on his role as Batman in Joel Schumacher’s 1995 blockbuster.
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He is survived by his children, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer, from his marriage to actress Joanne Whalley, whom he divorced in 1996.
