Val Kilmer, who starred in Top Gun and Tombstone, died on April 1, 2025, at the age of 65. His cause of death was pneumonia.
Family Life
Val Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, California. [1] His parents divorced when he was young. When he grew up, he married Joanne Whalley in 1988. Kilmer’s marriage ended in divorce. Val and Joanne had two children, Jack and Mercedes.
Acting
When he finished high school, Kilmer attended Juilliard School in New York to jumpstart his career in acting. He starred in over 60 movies throughout his career, including Tombstone, Top Gun, Heat, Batman Forever, and Top Gun: Maverick. [2]
Death
In 2014, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer, but he soon healed from that. Eleven years later, on April 1, 2025, he died at the age of 65 because of pneumonia. [3]
Other Actors Comments
Several actors who starred with or knew Val Kilmer made comments about him after his death. Jim Carrey, Kilmer’s Batman co-star said, “I’m remembering Val Kilmer today with great admiration for him as a man and as a generational talent who left us an enviable legacy of indelible acting performances.” [4]
Nicolas Cage commented, “I thought he was a genius actor. I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.” [5]
While presenting at CinemaCon, Tom Cruise, co-star in Top Gun, stated: “I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer for a moment. I can’t tell you how much I admired his work.” [6]
Notes:
- ^Val Kilmer, Film Star Who Played Batman and Jim Morrison, Dies at 65 (go back
) - ^Val Kilmer Dead: Star of ‘Batman Forever,’ ‘Tombstone’ Was 65 (go back )
- ^Val Kilmer Made Opinion on Tom Cruise Very Clear Before Death (go back )
- ^Val Kilmer’s co-stars Jim Carrey, Robert De Niro remember actor as a ‘generational talent’ (go back )
- ^Val Kilmer Death: Michael Mann, Francis Ford Coppola, Nicolas Cage, Cher Pay Tribute to Actor (go back )
- ^Val Kilmer’s co-star Tom Cruise honors ‘Top Gun’ star with moment of silence (go back )
