Val Kilmer, star of 'Top Gun,' 'Batman Forever,' 'The Doors,' dead at 65

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Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 7:20 AM

Val Kilmer, the star of '80s and '90s blockbusters including Top Gun, Batman Forever and Tombstone, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 65.

The actor’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed the death, saying he died Tuesday in Los Angeles of pneumonia, the AP reported. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but recovered after two tracheotomies.

Kilmer, born in LA, was a graduate of the Juilliard School's drama division. He began his career as a theater actor in off-Broadway plays before finding Hollywood fame in the early 1980s with roles in the spy spoof Top Secret! and the cult comedy Real Genius.

Kilmer became a major star when he landed the role of Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise. The film made $344 million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of the decade.

He followed the success of Top Gun with a string of well-received roles throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s: as dashing swordsman Madmartigan in Ron Howard's fantasy film Willow; as rock icon Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors; and as gunslinger Doc Holliday in the western drama Tombstone, alongside Kurt Russell.

In 1995, Kilmer stepped into the role of the Caped Crusader, replacing Michael Keaton in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. While the film was a massive box-office success, Kilmer opted not to reprise the role for the next installment.

In Val, the 2021 documentary about his life, Kilmer said he found the Batsuit limiting, saying, "Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit ... Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him ... not necessarily play him in a movie."

Kilmer returned as "Iceman" in the 2022 sequel to Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick -- it was his final film role.