Val Kilmer was ‘bedbound’ for years as his health failed before his shock death this week aged 65.
The Hollywood icon – famed for legendary roles in Top Gun, Batman and The Doors – passed from pneumonia in Los Angeles on Tuesday – a decade after battling throat cancer.
Family sources told TMZ Kilmer had a ‘lack of energy related to his cancer treatment’ confining him to his bed and, ‘while he was cancer free’ at the time of his death, his body ‘couldn’t keep fighting and shut down.’
They added that Kilmer was ‘very frail’ near the end of his life and that his health ‘suddenly declined in the past week.’
His family and friends were said be at his side in the hospital in the days before his death and it was claimed he had been hospitalized previously earlier this year.
The last video Kilmer posted donning a Batman mask in February was also said to have been filmed years ago.
Val Kilmer was ‘bedbound’ for years as his health failed before his shock death this week aged 65; seen in July 2019 in New York City
The actor died from pneumonia in Los Angeles on Tuesday; pictured in a 1986 still from Top Gun
His daughter Mercedes Kilmer, whom he shared with ex-wife Joanne Whalley, revealed his death this week.
The screen icon was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and underwent surgery, including a tracheotomy which significantly impacted his ability to speak. He was later declared cancer free.
Kilmer was known for his role as Iceman in the 1986 hit movie Top Gun and as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 1995 Batman Forever. Despite his permanently damaged voice, he made a brief return to the screen in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, reprising his role as Iceman opposite Tom Cruise. It was his final big screen appearance.
The Los Angeles native also famously played musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 film The Doors.
Aside from Mercedes, 33, he is also survived by son Jack Kilmer, 29. Kilmer was married to their mother, fellow actress Joanne, from 1988 until 1996.
His death was confirmed by the New York Times on Tuesday.
Kilmer underwent both radiotherapy and chemotherapy for his cancer as well as a tracheostomy a procedure to create an artificial hole in this neck to help him breathe.
The latter permanently damaged his vocal cords and consequentially forever altered his speaking voice.
In 1991, he famously played musician Jim Morrison in The Doors; pictured in a still from the movie
Family sources told TMZ Kilmer had a ‘lack of energy related to his cancer treatment’ confining him to his bed and ‘while he was cancer free’ his body ‘couldn’t keep fighting and shut down’ – pictured 2019 with daughter Mercedes
Kilmer reported in 2020 that he had been cancer-free for four years.
Leading the tributes to the fallen star was his friend and fellow actor Josh Brolin.
The No Country For Old Men star who shared a throwback photo of the two actors grinning ear-to-ear sometime prior to an emergency tracheotomy Kilmer had in 2014 after his throat cancer was discovered.
‘See ya, pal,’ Brolin captioned the photo affectionately. ‘I’m going to miss you.’
He praised Kilmer as a ‘smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,’ adding, ‘There’s not a lot left of those.’
‘I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there,’ Brolin continued. ‘Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.’
Kilmer underwent both radiotherapy and chemotherapy for his cancer as well as a tracheostomy a procedure to create an artificial hole in this neck to help him breathe; pictured with Ben Donenberg in 2019
The latter permanently damaged his vocal cords and consequentially forever altered his speaking voice; seen with rumored ex Angelina Jolie in 2004
In a post on Instagram, the actor Josh Gad shared a photo of Kilmer in glories days from the filming of Top Gun.
‘RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon,’ he captioned the post.
The comic actor and filmmaker Jorma Taccone, who is part of The Lonely Island with Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer, simply wrote ‘love you, Val’ in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The sports guru and podcast Bill Simmons shared what looked like a photo of a polaroid of Kilmer in costume on the set of Heat.
‘There wasn’t anyone quite like Val Kilmer. Really enjoyed his work. RIP,’ he wrote.
In the Amazon Prime documentary entitled Val, Kilmer spoke candidly about living with the consequences of throat cancer including having to use an electric device called a voice box on the artificial hole in his throat to talk.
‘I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel. I can’t speak without plugging this hole [in his throat],’ he said.
A voice box device is most commonly a battery-operated machine that produces sound to create a voice, and is used to help those suffering with throat cancer communicate.
The actor, who also had to have meals through a feeding tube, explained some of the other challenges.
Less than two months before his death, Kilmer published what would be one of his final social media posts on February 23, 2025. He uploaded haunting footage of himself hanging out in a padded room with artist/musician David Choe, which was originally filmed in 2021
Leading the tributes to the fallen star was his friend and fellow actor Josh Brolin, who shared a photo of the two of them
‘See ya, pal,’ Brolin captioned the photo affectionately. ‘I’m going to miss you’
Tributes poured in for the actor
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‘You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat. It’s an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me,’ he said.
Val’s son provided the voice-over narration of the documentary but his lines were written by Val himself.
Kilmer has previously detailed how he was unaware he had throat cancer until one day he coughed up ‘coagulated blood’ and called for an ambulance before passing out.
He then woke up in a Santa Monica hospital after an emergency tracheotomy for throat cancer.
Speaking to the New York Times about denying he had throat cancer, he explained: ‘They said I was denying that I had cancer, and when they asked me, I didn’t have cancer. It was a bit like do you have a broken bone? And if you broke it in high school, you would say no.’
He added that radiation and chemotherapy ’caused his suffering’, not the cancer itself.
His parents were Christian Scientists, a movement to which Kilmer would adhere for the rest of his life.
Christian Scientists believe that sickness and sin are mental errors, not physical problems, and can be healed through prayer and understanding of spiritual truths.
Val said he believes it was ‘prayers’ that cured him, not the chemotherapy.
In 2020, Kilmer said he ‘healed very quickly’ following his throat cancer diagnosis, in an interview with Good Morning America.
‘This is a tracheotomy,’ he said while holding his hand to his throat, ‘to help me breathe because the glands in my throat swelled up as well’.
When asked what he misses the most about his voice, Kilmer told GMA: ‘That I had one! And that I didn’t laugh like a pirate.’
While he stopped attending red carpet events in 2019, Kilmer kept up with fans by sharing his artwork and rare selfies to his Instagram.
And less than two months before his death, Kilmer published what would be one of his final social media posts on February 23, 2025.
He uploaded haunting footage of himself hanging out in a padded room with artist/musician David Choe, which was originally filmed in 2021.
The star looked relatively healthy with a slim build, clean-shaven face and his hair worn slightly long.
He rocketed to stardom as Tom Cruise’s co-star in the smash 1986 hit Top Gun (1986), playing naval aviator Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky
Despite his permanently damaged voice, he made a brief return to the screen in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick (pictured)
He also played Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 1995 Batman Forever (pictured in a still)
