Val Kilmer has died at the age of 65.
Mercedes Kilmer, his daughter, told The New York Times that pneumonia was the cause of death.
Following chemotherapy and trachea surgery that reduced his voice powers, Kilmer, the dramatic and frequently mysterious actor whose roles varied from rock legend Jim Morrison to the caped crusader in Batman Forever, recovered from his 2014 throat cancer diagnosis.
Kilmer, who was born in 1959 in Los Angeles, showed remarkable aptitude at an early age. At the age of 17, he was accepted into the Juilliard School’s acting program as one of the youngest students ever. After starting his career on stage, Hollywood quickly approached him.
The cult comedy Real Genius (1985) and the spy parody Top Secret! (1984) were Kilmer’s first motion pictures. However, his performance alongside Tom Cruise as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun (1986) was what made him a global celebrity.
He returned to the role decades later in the popular follow-up Top Gun: Maverick (2022), in which Iceman had become the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
