By Bianca Sierra
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
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 $3.8 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 Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Saint (1997), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Salton Sea (2002), Spartan (2004), Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Déjà Vu (2006), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), MacGruber (2010), Twixt (2011), 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, and died of pneumonia in 2025. He released his memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry: A Memoir (2020), and the documentary Val (2021), both of which detail career and health struggles of the actor.
Val Edward Kilmer was born December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, the second of three sons to Gladys Swanette (née Ekstadt; 1928–2019) and Eugene Dorris Kilmer (1921–1993). His mother was of Swedish descent, and his father’s ancestry included Irish, German, and Cherokee roots. His parents divorced in 1968 when he was 8 years old. In 1970, his mother married William Bernard Leach. Kilmer’s grandfather was a gold miner in New Mexico, near its border with Arizona. Kilmer was raised with Christian Science beliefs, which he maintained in general for most of his life. In 1977, Kilmer’s younger brother Wesley (1961–1977), who had epilepsy, drowned in a jacuzzi at age 16.
He attended Chatsworth High School at the same time as Kevin Spacey.His high school girlfriend was Mare Winningham. He became the youngest person at the time to be accepted into the Juilliard School‘s Drama Division, where he was a member of Group
On April 1, 2025, Kilmer died of pneumonia in Los Angeles at age 65.
