XX
Val Kilmer, a character actor as famous for his idiosyncrasies as he was for his widely lauded performances in hit films such as “Top Gun,” “Tombstone” and “Batman Forever,” has died at age 65.
A devout Christian Scientist who eschewed traditional medical treatment, Kilmer died Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to the New York Times. The actor’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, told the newspaper the cause of death was pneumonia. Kilmer had been treated for throat cancer, a procedure that largely left him voiceless. He said in 2021 that he was cancer-free.
The actor rose to fame in the 1980s as a Julliard-trained prodigy with leading-man potential on par with his “Top Gun” co-star Tom Cruise. At his peak, he courted Cher and Cindy Crawford, made $6 million per movie and earned a reputation for being all but impossible to work with.
Kilmer was exacting about his work, ambivalent about fame and disinclined to spend much time with the press. After his triumphant portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors,” he moved to a vast New Mexico ranch where he rode horses, raised buffalo and wrote poetry.
On set, it was said he could be petulant and exhausting, an attitude that alienated directors and his co-stars, including Marlon Brando on the set of “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”
After director Joel Schumacher wrapped up “Batman Forever,” he said, “I don’t like Val Kilmer, I don’t like his work ethic, and I don’t want to be associated with him ever again.”
Kilmer’s reputation was such that the starring roles dwindled in the late 2000s after his last critically acclaimed lead performance, in the 2005 comedy “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” opposite Robert Downey Jr.
Plagued by the IRS, disgruntled neighbors and bad PR, Kilmer had to sell his ranch to pay back taxes and overdue child support. After that, he devoted himself over the course of a decade to “Citizen Twain,” a touring one-man show that he wrote, directed and starred in as a resurrected Mark Twain. He took the show to more than 30 cities over the years.
Largely at the insistence of Tom Cruise, Kilmer reprised his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in “Top Gun: Maverick.” It was the highest-grossing film of 2022 and generally applauded by critics. Though he had to use AI-based dubbing technology to speak his lines, his presence was enough for fans.
