At age 65, movie star Val Kilmer passes away.
In addition to his parts in Batman Forever, Top Gun, and The Doors, he starred in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, True Romance, and Heat.
Actor Val Kilmer, who gained notoriety as a Hollywood bad boy while starring in Batman and Top Gun, passed away at the age of 65.
He passed away on Tuesday night in Los Angeles from pneumonia while surrounded by family and friends, according to his daughter Mercedes, who spoke to the Associated Press.
Kilmer, who was born in California, says she recovered from throat cancer after receiving a diagnosis in 2014.
The actor, who costarred with Tom Cruise in Top Gun in 1986 as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, had previously acknowledged that he didn’t want the part that made him famous.
However, he said that he even went so far as to approach the filmmakers and create “heartrending scenes with Iceman” in order to be included in the 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. It would be his last performance.
Having dated celebrities like Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, Carly Simon, and Cher, Kilmer had a colorful romantic history.
In 1988, he married his British co-star Joanne Whalley and starred in Willow. Before their 1996 divorce, the couple had two kids.
Kilmer won praise from critics for his performance as rock star Jim Morrison in the 1991 film The Doors and played Batman in the 1995 movie Batman Forever.
Along with playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 picture Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone, he also acted in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
In 1992, film reviewer Roger Ebert wrote: “If there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it.” Kilmer was one of the Best paid actors of the 1990s.
In 1984, the actor made his cinematic debut in the spy parody Top Secret!, and in 1985, a year before he shot to prominence in Top Gun, he starred in the silly comedy Real Genius.
“I don’t apologize.”
Kilmer developed a reputation as a volatile, obsessive, perfectionistic, and occasionally arrogant person throughout the years, and he had many arguments with directors and co-stars.
“When some people criticize me for being demanding, I think that’s a cover for something they didn’t do well,” Kilmer stated in a 2003 interview. I believe they are attempting self-defense.
“I believe I’m challenging, not demanding, and I make no apologies for that.”
Kilmer and co-star Marlon Brando had a well-known argument during the infamously problematic 1996 production of “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”
The film’s director, John Frankenheimer, later declared that he would never do two things: “I will never work with Val Kilmer again, and I will never climb Mount Everest.” The world’s money supply is insufficient.
Kilmer, however, was previously said to as “the most psychologically troubled human being I’ve ever worked with” by Joel Schumacher, the director of Batman Forever.
Kilmer was described as “a member in good standing of Hollywood’s bad boys club” by the Chicago Tribune in 1997.
Kilmer received numerous accolades for his performances in highly regarded films, but he was also nominated several times for worst actor at the annual Razzie Awards, which honors the worst in film.
“You were a true icon.”
Kilmer talked about his diagnosis and recovery from throat cancer in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry.
In addition to receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy for the illness, he also had a tracheostomy, which left him with a chronic, hoarse voice.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Kilmer starred in movies such as The Snowman (2017) and Paydirt (2020), in addition to the Top Gun sequel.
“See ya, pal,” actor Josh Brolin posted on Instagram. You will be missed. You were a brilliant, fearless, daring, and extremely imaginative firebrand. Those are becoming scarce.
“When I finally reach the sky, I hope to meet you there. Till then, wonderful thoughts and wonderful memories.
Actor Josh Gad referred to Kilmer as “an icon” in an Instagram post.
“RIP, Val Kilmer,” he said. I appreciate you categorizing so many of my favorite childhood films. You were a real icon.
Alongside Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon, Kilmer debuted on Broadway in the 1983 production of Slab Boys.
In addition, he had appearances in Henry IV: Part One, As You Like It, and Hamlet, where he played the title character.
He played the lead in Andrew Rattenbury’s production of The Postman Always Rings Twice at the Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End in 2005.
According to his website, Kilmer was a “talented and prolific artist in a variety of mediums” who also loved painting.
Kilmer, who was born in Los Angeles on December 31, 1959, started acting in high school and was accepted as the youngest student into the renowned Juilliard School’s theater section in New York.
Kilmer “is plagued by a bad image, but most of it is unjustified,” Phillip Noyce, who directed him in “The Saint,” said in a 1997 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. Val Kilmer is actually a lamb. Additionally, he is the most diligent actor I have ever seen.
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