Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a leading man in films in a wide variety of genres, including comedies, dramas, action adventures, westerns, historical films, crime dramas, science fiction films, and fantasy films. Films in which Kilmer appeared grossed more than $3.85 billion worldwide. In 1992, film critic Roger Ebert remarked, "if there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it". Kilmer started his film career in the comedy films Top Secret! (1984) and Real Genius (1985), before transitioning to dramatic films. He rose to prominence for playing Iceman in Top Gun (1986), Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991), Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993), and Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever (1995). He also gained acclaim for his roles in Willow (1988), Thunderheart (1992), True Romance (1993) and Heat (1995). He later acted in films such as The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), The Saint (1997), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Salton Sea (2002), Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Déjà Vu (2006), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), MacGruber (2010), The Snowman (2017), and Song to Song (2017). Kilmer made his final film appearance in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), reprising his role from the original film. On stage, Kilmer made his Broadway theatre debut acting in the John Byrne working class play The Slab Boys (1983). He also acted in productions of William Shakespeare's history play Henry IV, Part 1 (1981) and in the John Ford tragedy 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1992) both at The Public Theater. He portrayed Mark Twain in a one-man show he had written titled Citizen Twain in a 2012 production in Los Angeles. In 2015, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer. He subsequently underwent a tracheal procedure that damaged his vocal cords, leaving him with severe difficulty speaking. He also underwent chemotherapy and two tracheotomies, before he died on April 1, 2025. He released his memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir (2020) and the documentary Val (2021), both of which detail his career and health struggles.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Val Kilmer", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
References
Title | Summary | |
---|---|---|
Val | ... on the daily life of actor Val Kilmer based mainly on ... |
Connection Chains
- From 1938 Graham to Val Kilmer in 12 Steps
- From Beatles to Val Kilmer in 12 Steps
- From Joe Walsh to Val Kilmer in 12 Steps
- From It's So Easy to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From I'll Never Leave You to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From Jim Keltner to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From I Need You to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From Don't Forget Me to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From Ringo Starr to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From Ambush to Val Kilmer in 9 Steps
- From Murakami-Wolf-Swenson to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From J'attendrai Longtemps to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Diane Nilsson to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Bobby Keys to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Angie's Suite to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From The Cheers to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Trevor Lawrence to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Harry Nilsson to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From August 23 to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From A Star Is Bought to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Jim Keltner to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From ...That's the Way It Is to Val Kilmer in 8 Steps
- From Sara Watkins to Val Kilmer in 7 Steps
- From Morris Pert to Val Kilmer in 7 Steps
- From Rick Jarrard to Val Kilmer in 7 Steps
- From Unichappell Music to Val Kilmer in 7 Steps
Connections
- December 31 is the birthday of Val Kilmer
- Val features an appearance by Val Kilmer
- Val Kilmer was born on December 31
- Val Kilmer appears in Val