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Val Kilmer, who portrayed Bruce Wayne in “Batman Forever,” Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s “The Doors,” and a tubercular Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. His daughter, Mercedes, informed The New York Times that the reason was pneumonia. He was 65. He’d been fighting throat cancer for many years.
Kilmer’s representatives did not immediately reply to Variety’s request for comment.
The baby-faced blonde actor had a strong run as a leading man with a volatile reputation in the ’80s and ’90s, appearing in “Top Gun,” “Real Genius,” “Willow,” “Heat,” and “The Saint.” He made a short comeback to the screen in 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” despite being unable to talk due to cancer.
In 2021, a documentary on his life, “Val,” was published. His son contributed the actor’s voice, and the film made use of hundreds of hours of footage he had collected over the years, providing a candid look at the sets he worked on and presenting the actor as an introspective thinker with an artist’s spirit.
Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton in Joel Schumacher’s 1995 film “Batman Forever,” and received mixed reviews for his portrayal of the Dark Knight. He was succeeded by George Clooney in 1997’s “Batman & Robin,” a renowned fiasco that almost ended the series. The New York Times remarked on “Batman Forever,” “The prime costume is now worn by Val Kilmer, who makes a good Batman but not a better one than Michael Keaton.”
After apparently declining a position in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders,” Kilmer struck out with a leading role in the 1984 espionage parody “Top Secret!,” in which he portrayed a rock star and performed his own songs. Following his role as a bright college student in the 1985 sci-fi comedy “Real Genius,” he rose to prominence, starring alongside Tom Cruise in the global success “Top Gun.” Kilmer met his future wife, actress Joanne Whalley, on the set of Ron Howard’s fantasy picture “Willow,” and they acted together in “Kill Me Again” in 1989.
One of his most notable performances was as the charming and doomed Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film “The Doors.” Kilmer remembered all of Morrison’s song lyrics before his audition, and he immersed himself in the character, dressing like the artist for over a year. Roger Ebert said of his role as Jim Morrison, “The performance is the best thing in the movie — and since nearly every scene centers on Morrison, that is not small praise.”
Following “Batman Forever,” New Line convinced Kilmer to join the tumultuous production of “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” where he clashed with both the film’s star, Marlon Brando, and director John Frankenheimer. Frustrations on the shoot escalated when Brando failed to appear, and the documentary “Val” depicted a tense set where staff members darkly laughed about Brando’s stand-in, Norm.
Frankenheimer, the second director to work on the picture, allegedly said, “There are two things I will never do in my whole life. The first is that I will never climb Mount Everest. The second is that I’ll never work with Val Kilmer again.”
Kilmer appeared in Michael Apted’s Westerns “Thunderheart” and “The Real McCoy” in the 1990s, as well as a brief but memorable appearance as an Elvis-like mentor in Tony Scott’s film “True Romance.” His portrayal of a cynical Doc Holliday in “Tombstone” (1993) was one of his most admired performances, and in 1995, he participated in “Heat” opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
He went on to appear in “The Ghost and the Darkness” and the lackluster remake “The Saint,” which he filmed rather than returning as Batman in “Batman & Robin.” Kilmer said he didn’t return as Batman due to schedule conflicts, although Schumacher’s depiction of him as “psychotic” might have also played a role.
After the mid-1990s, his studio jobs decreased due to his image as tough and argumentative, and he starred largely in independent films and supporting parts, including Stone’s badly received “Alexander.”
Kilmer was born in Los Angeles and reared in Chatsworth. He attended Hollywood Professional School and the Juilliard School. He debuted off Broadway in “The Slab Boys,” co-starring with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon, before making his television debut in the afterschool special “One Too Many,” which also featured Michelle Pfeiffer.
He provided voices for animated films such as “The Prince of Egypt.” His other features were “At First Sight,” “Red Planet,” “Pollock,” “The Salton Sea,” “Wonderland,” and “The Missing.” Kilmer went on to appear in films such as “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” with Robert Downey, Jr., “Déjà Vu” with Denzel Washington, “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” and “The Snowman.”
Kilmer, a devout Christian Scientist, refused to acknowledge his cancer diagnosis when it was announced by Michael Douglas in 2016. In a screenplay featuring Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, and Mark Twain, he blended his passion with both individuals. He traveled the nation with his one-man performance “Citizen Twain” for numerous years, which included video and live readings of the humorist’s writings.
Kilmer was nominated for Best Spoken Word at the 2012 Grammy Awards for his audio version of “Zorro.” His book, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” called after a passage from “Tombstone,” was released in 2020.
Kilmer spent several years on a ranch in New Mexico, where he remained to own property after selling the majority of the ranch. He also painted and oversaw high school theatrical programs where students performed Twain and Shakespeare.
He divorced Whalley in 1996 and is survived by his daughter, Mercedes, and son, Jack.
