- Val Kilmer died last week aged 65
- Many stars from the world of cinema paid tribute to the actor
- Kilmer starred in iconic films such as Top Gun
More than a week on from the passing of Val Kilmer, who starred in iconic movies such as Top Gun, the official cause of his death has been confirmed.
The cause of the 65-year-old’s death was pneumonia, according to a death certificate, which has been seen by media outlets such as People.
The certificate also noted underlying causes for Kilmer’s death, including acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure and squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue.
This confirms what Vilmer’s daughter, Mercedes, said when his death was announced on April 1. She also mentioned that the actor had been previously diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, from which he had recovered.
However, a tracheal procedure Kilmer had after his diagnosis severely damaged his vocal cords, which meant that from then on he had difficulty in speaking.
Kilmer’s heath issues had limited his movie work in more recent years, with his final on-screen appearance coming in Top Gun: Maverick, when he reprised his role of Ice Man, alongside Tom Cruise’s Maverick.
Stellar career
Kilmer was one of the biggest actors in the world in the 1980s and 90s. As well as starring in Top Gun – which helped catapult him to stardom – he also had memorable roles such as Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991), as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993) and starring alongside Al Pacino and Rober De Niro in crime drama, Heat (1995).
He also donned Batman’s iconic cowl for 1995’s Batman Forever.
Tributes made to Val Kilmer
After Kilmer’s death was announced, many friends, co-stars and colleagues took to social media to express their sadness at his passing and share memories of him. This included Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in Heat. “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character,” he said.
You can read more of the tributes to Val Kilmer here.
Tom Cruise also paid an emotional tribute to the actor he appeared alongside in Top Gun and its 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. Speaking at an appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Cruise paused proceedings to have a moment of silence in honor of his “dear friend” Kilmer, before bowing his head. He also spoke of the respect he had for Kilmer as an actor and person.
