Batman Forever lead Val Kilmer passed away at the age of 65.
He died on April 1st in Los Angeles. The reported cause of death was pneumonia, although that is the not the health condition that Kilmer has become most closely associated with. In 2016, Kilmer’s throat cancer diagnosis went public.
The Life and Film Roles of Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer was born and raised in Los Angeles. Specifically, Kilmer grew up in Chatsworth, a suburb near Northridge. He attended Hollywood Professional School and then later Juilliard School. His first on-screen role was a televised afterschool special “One Too Many”. It also starred Batman Returns’ Catwoman actress Michelle Pfeiffer.
Kilmer was the famous for such roles in popular 1980’s and 90’s movies like The Doors, Willow, and Heat. However, he was probably most well-known for the Maverick’s rival fighter pilot Iceman in 1986’s Top Gun. It is perhaps appropriate that the 2022 legacy sequel Top Gun: Maverick was Kilmer’s last on-screen role. In the popular follow-up, Kilmer’s Iceman returned, albeit also suffering from cancer- just like actor. Kilmer performed his last role without speaking.
Kilmer on Being Batman
Despite all of this, he is well-known as Batman in the 1995 Batman Forever to Bat-fans. Coincidentally, Forever will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this coming June.
Kilmer himself was not super enthusiastic about the role. He has gone on to say that he felt interchangeable in the costume. He realized that the celebrity of Batman far exceeded his personal fame as an actor.
Additionally, the actor has reported how awful wearing the Bat-suit is. He likened the experience to that of being an old person, where you trip over everything, you can’t hear, and barely talk in it.
Kilmer’s Last Few Years
In his final years, Kilmer lived on a ranch in New Mexico. He also semi-retired from acting, but continued to cultivate the art with budding actors. He was a part of a high school acting program to perform Mark Twain and Shakespeare. He survived by his two children, daughter Mercedes and son Jack.
Source: variety.com
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