Val Kilmer dies at 65
Val Kilmer, the enigmatic Hollywood star known for his roles as Jim Morrison, Batman, and Doc Holliday, has passed away at 65. A gifted yet unpredictable actor, Kilmer’s career spanned decades, from cult classics to blockbusters. His legacy, marked by intensity and transformation, remains unforgettable.
Val Kilmer, the charismatic yet mercurial leading man who made waves as Jim Morrison, Batman, and the ever-quotable Doc Holliday, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 65. His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed the cause as pneumonia. A Hollywood enigma, Kilmer was a star who could shine dazzlingly bright but also disappear into the shadows when the mood took him. At one point, he stepped away from Tinseltown for an entire decade – an unheard-of move in an industry where out of sight is often out of mind.
Tall, striking, and possessing a voice that could switch from velvet-smooth to ice-cold menace in an instant, Kilmer’s career was anything but predictable. He made his feature debut in the gloriously daft Cold War spoof Top Secret! (1984), where he played a hip-thrusting American rock star caught in a farcical East German conspiracy. But it was in The Doors (1991) that he truly showcased his chameleonic ability, embodying the self-destructive allure of Jim Morrison with unnerving accuracy. He even lent his own voice to the film’s soundtrack, to the astonishment of Morrison’s surviving bandmates, who struggled to tell him apart from the real thing.
In Batman Forever (1995), Kilmer donned the famous cowl and squared up to Jim Carrey’s Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones’s Two-Face. Though the film did brisk business at the box office, critics weren’t exactly handing out bat-signals of approval. As The New York Times put it, audiences had little to ponder beyond “gimmicky props and the kitsch of good actors dressed for a red-hot Halloween.” Ouch.
Yet, Kilmer’s career was more than just a dalliance with blockbuster superstardom. He had a knack for scene-stealing, especially in ensemble films. As the ice-cool Iceman in Top Gun (1986), he gave Tom Cruise’s Maverick a run for his money, reprising the role years later in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) to poignant effect. His turn as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) remains the stuff of legend, delivering lines dripping with Southern charm and deathly menace in equal measure. And let’s not forget his role in Heat (1995), holding his own alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Mann’s sleek crime epic.
Kilmer was also known for being, shall we say, a bit of a handful on set. His reputation for being difficult preceded him, with some co-stars and directors describing him as temperamental, while others found his intensity mesmerising. Even Robert Downey Jr. admitted that he initially loathed him, before they became fast friends while filming Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). The industry may have struggled to pin him down, but there was never any doubting his talent.
Born in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve in 1959, Val Kilmer was something of a prodigy, earning a spot at Juilliard at just 17. He started in theatre, appearing on Broadway in The Slab Boys alongside Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon, before making the leap to Hollywood. His marriage to actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met on the set of Willow (1988), ended in divorce, but together they had two children, Mercedes and Jack.
In his later years, Kilmer turned his attention to Mark Twain, a figure he became obsessed with. His one-man play, Citizen Twain, showcased his love for the author’s wit and wisdom, while his documentary, Val (2021), gave a deeply personal insight into his life and battles with throat cancer.
Though he stepped away from the Hollywood spotlight, Kilmer remained an enduring figure in cinema. His work will be revisited, his performances quoted with relish, and his unpredictability remembered with fond exasperation. In the end, he was true to himself – and in an industry built on illusion, that might just be the most remarkable act of all.
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