Val Kilmer, an actor known for “The Doors” and “Tombstone,” dies at the age of 65

Val Kilmer, acclaimed, charming and brooding actor who appeared in a series of blockbuster hits in the 1980s and 1990s, passed away at the age of 65.

Kilmer passed away Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Surrounded by family and friends, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in an email to the Associated Press.

Val Kilmer died of pneumonia. He recovered after 2014 Throat cancer diagnosis It required two tracheostomy.

The New York Times first reported Kilmer’s death.

A unique talent, Kilmer was praised as an acting chameleon who took on a variety of challenging roles, and the results were often memorable. Starting with “Top Gun,” alongside Tom Cruise in 1986, he played iconic performances one after another.

It was his turn as Jim Morrison in the 1991 Oliverstone classic “The Doors” and in 1993 as the witty docuten holiday in the western “Tombstone.” He tracked it down in 1995 as Batman in “Batman Forever” and played bank robbery in Michael Man’s 1995 crime thriller “The Heat.”

His last major film credits were “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022. He recreated his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.

Towards the end of Val, a 2021 documentary about his career, Kilmer said, “I’ve been acting poor. I’ve been acting brave. I’ve been acting strange.

After attending the prestigious Juilliard School, Kilmer experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most. His break was the 1984 spice pouf “Top Secret!” and the comedy “Real Genius” followed in 1985. Kilmer later showed comedic chops again in films like “McGulver” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

His film career struck Zenith in the early 1990s as he starred alongside Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton in “The Tombstone,” as Elvis’s “Ghost” in “The True Romance,” along with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as an expert in the demolition of Mann’s film “The Heat.”

The actor who participated in the Suzuki Arts Training Method Branch threw himself into the parts. For his role in “The Tombstone,” he filled the bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the sensation of death caused by tuberculosis. To play Morrison, he always wore leather pants and asked his castmates and crew to just call him Jim Morrison, blowing the doors for a year.

That strength also gave Kilmer a reputation for being difficult for him to work with. He agreed in a mood later in life, but always defended himself by emphasizing art over commerce.

“In my attempts to empower directors, actors and other collaborators to honor the truth and essence of each project, I alienated and alienated the heads of all major studios in an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into countless Hollywood moments.”

One of his more iconic roles – as hotshot pilot Kazanski on the other side of the cruise, which hardly happened. Kilmer was courted by Director Tony Scott for “Top Gun,” but initially bald. “I didn’t want that part. I didn’t care about the film. The story wasn’t interested in me,” he wrote in his memoir. He agreed after his role was promised to improve from the original script.

Kilmer vs Batman costume

When he played Batman in the flashy “Batman Forever” with Joel Schumacher’s Goofy, Nicole Kidman, George Clooney won the mantle for 1997’s “Batman & Robin,” and after Michael Keaton played the Dark Knight in 1989’s “Batman” and 1992’s “Batman Return,” he said.

Janet Maslin of the New York Times said that Kilmer “slammed into the straight man side of the role,” but Roger Ebert deadpanned him as Keaton’s “fully accepted” alternative. Kilmer, who finished as Batman, denounced many of his performances in the suit.

“When you’re there, you can barely move and people have to help you stand up and sit,” Kilmer said in “Val.” “You hear nothing and after a while people stop talking to you, it’s very isolated. It was hard for me to pass the suit and get a performance. And it was frustrating until I realized that my role in the film was to show up where I was told.”

His next project was the film version of the 1960s television series The Saint – wearing wigs, accents and glasses, and “Isle” with “Dr. Moreau’s Island” and Marlon Brando became one of the most infamous and cursed productions of the decade.

David Gregory’s 2014 documentary Lost Soul: Richard Stanley’s Fateful Journey of Dr. Moreau explained the cursed set, which includes Hurricane, Kilmer’s bullying director Richard Stanley, the Stanley fired via fax (who turned on masks and returned to the set as an extra) and the cursed set, which includes Kilmer and Brand’s presence. The older actor told a younger person at one point: Kilmer wrote in his memoirs.

In 1996, Entertainment Weekly published a cover story about Kilmer, where directors Schumacher and director John Frankenheimer, who finished “Dr. Moreau’s Island,” entitled “Love Hat.” Frankenheimer said there are two things he never would: “Climb Mount Everest and work with Val Kilmer again.”

Other artists came to his defense, like DJ Caruso. DJ Caruso directed Kilmer to “Salton Sea,” and said the actor loved to talk scenes and enjoyed the director’s attention.

“Val needs to be immersed in the characters. I think Val will ask a lot of questions about what happened to directors like Frankenheimer and Schumacher. A guy like Schumacher said, “You’re Batman! Caruso told the New York Times in 2002.

After “Dr. Moreau’s Island,” the film was small, like David Mamet’s human trafficking thriller, “Spartan.” Joe the King the King in 1999. He plays 70s porn star John Holmes in 2003’s “Wonderland.” He also threw himself into his solo-man stage show “Citizen Twain,” in which he played Mark Twain.

“I enjoy the depth and soul that Twain had for his fellow men and America,” he told Variety in 2018. “And always a comedy that is very close to the surface, and how valuable his genius is today. And yet, we fight against racism and greed.

Kilmer’s early days

Kilmer spent his formative years in Los Angeles’ Chatsworth area. He attended Chatsworth High School along with future Oscar winner Kevin Spacey and future Emmy Award winner Marle Winnham. At 17, he was the youngest drama student to be recognized at Juilliard School in 1981.

Shortly after he left for Juilliard, his younger brother, 15-year-old Wesley, suffered from an epileptic attack in the family’s Jacuzzi and died on his way to the hospital. Wesley was an aspiring filmmaker when he passed away.

“I miss him and I miss him. I have his art. I like to think about what he created. I’m still inspired by him,” Kilmer told The Times.

While still at Juilliard, Kilmer co-appeared, appearing in a play called “How It All,” and then turned down the role of “The Outsiders” by Francis Ford Coppola.

Kilmer published two books of poetry (including “My Edens After Burns”) and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2012 for the spoken language album “The Mark of Zorro.” He was a visual artist and a lifelong Christian scientist.

He dated Cher, married actor Joanne Holy and divorced.

He is survived by two children, Mercedes and Jack.

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