Top Gun and Batman star Val Kilmer dies aged 65
His daughter Mercedes said the actor had died from pneumonia
Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky In Top Gun. Screen capture. Paramount Pictures. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
Top Gun star Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65, his daughter has said.
In a statement to the New York Times, his daughter Mercedes said the actor had died from pneumonia.
He rose to fame starring alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 hit Top Gun.
Actor Val Kilmer poses for a portrait in circa 1984. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Kilmer would go on to play Batman in 1995’s Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 film The Doors.
Kilmer’s final acting role was a cameo on the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Kilmer had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, discussing his diagnosis and recovery in his 2020 memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry.
Actor Val Kilmer visits the United Nations headquarters in New York City, New York to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative, July 20, 2019. (Photo by EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty Images)
In a post on Instagram, actor Josh Gad paid tribute to the action star.
He said: “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon.”
Actor Josh Brolin, son of James Brolin, said he was going to miss his “pal”.
“You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,” he said in an Instagram post.
“There’s not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
Val Kilmer (PA)
Kilmer married Joan Whalley in 1988, who he met while working on the film Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Fellow actors are paying tribute to the star.
Actor Josh Brolin called Kilmer a “smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker”.
The American actor Val Kilmer, star of Batman Forever, Tombstone and The Saint stands in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty Images)
Alongside a picture of the two, he wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.
“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
In a post on Instagram, actor Josh Gad called Kilmer “an icon”.
He said: “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon.”
