31 Dec 1959 - 1 Apr 2025 (65 years)

Val Edward Kilmer was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he found fame after appearances in comedy films Real Genius (1985) and later in the military action film Top Gun (1986) and the fantasy film Willow (1988). Kilmer gained acclaim for his portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991).

He starred in a variety of films, including the western Tombstone (1993) and the crime dramas True Romance (1993) and Heat (1995). In addition, he portrayed Batman in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever (1995) and went on to appear in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Saint (1997), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), and The Snowman (2017). In 2022, Kilmer reprised his role as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, marking his final film performance.

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. In 2020, he published his memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir. The 2021 documentary film Val chronicles his health struggles and career, and it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Recognized as one of the best-paid actors of the 1990s, Kilmer's films have grossed over $3.7 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 was a lifelong Christian Scientist, and upon his throat cancer diagnosis referred to it in the press as "the suggestion of throat cancer", opting not to explicitly associate himself with such a diagnosis. He underwent suggested chemotherapy despite it being conventionally against his religion.

In January 2015, Kilmer was hospitalized for what his representative said were tests for a possible tumor. After previously denying persistent rumors that he had been diagnosed with cancer, Kilmer said in April 2017 that he had experienced a "healing of cancer". In December 2017, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Kilmer had gone through a "two-year battle with throat cancer" and that "a procedure on his trachea has reduced his voice to a rasp and rendered him short of breath". In order to speak, Kilmer plugged an electric voice box in to his trachea. Although initially reluctant to start medical treatment due to his Christian Science beliefs, Kilmer underwent chemotherapy and two tracheotomies.

Kilmer reported in 2020 that he had been cancer-free for four years, but he detailed ongoing struggles with medical treatments.
For the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinski said that, despite reports to the contrary, they did not use Sonantic's AI technology in the film, and instead used Kilmer's actual voice, although it was digitally altered for clarity.

Kilmer died from pneumonia in Los Angeles.