Val Kilmer, 65, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles of pneumonia, according to his daughter Mercedes. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but had recovered.
Tall, handsome, and iconic, Val Kilmer played wingman, huckleberry, and rockstar both on film and in real life.
Rest in peace, Val Kilmer. pic.twitter.com/BhGty8zeBQ
— Caprice Conley(@CapriceFilms) April 2, 2025
Kilmer made his feature debut in a slapstick Cold War spy-movie spoof, “Top Secret!” in 1984. From there he played an imaginary Elvis in “True Romance,” an FBI agent in “Thunderheart,” and a thief in “The Saint.”
Between Michael Keaton and George Clooney, he claimed the batsuit in “Batman Forever” and battled in Gotham City.
He was a gangster in “Heat,” and a lion hunter in “The Ghost and the Darkness.”
Born in northwest Los Angeles in 1959, Kilmer’s neighbors were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and his high school classmates were Kevin Spacey and Mare Winningham. His parents divorced when he was nine, and his younger brother drowned in a swimming pool, haunting him for years.
He was one of the youngest students ever admitted at Juilliard.
His marriage to Joanne Whalley ended in divorce. He lived in Santa Fe for years, and once pondered a run for governor of New Mexico.
His children, Jack and Mercedes, produced a biography, “Val,” with decades of archival footage in 2021, which won several awards including a Critics Choice Award for best historical or biographical documentary.
