American actor Val Kilmer, who is massively known for portraying Batman and Jim Morrison on-screen, died in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
He was 65.
Val died of pneumonia, his daughter Mercedes Kilmer said, The New York Times reported.
The actor was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered from it, his daughter said.
One of the highest-paid actors of the 1990s, Val got an opportunity to become a rockstar at the onset of his career, courtesy of his debut work Top Secret!.
The 1984 slapstick comedy featured him as rockstar Nick Rivers, who in the flick travels to East Germany to perform at a cultural festival that helps the East German government to use it as a diversion for a military operation.
After the science fiction comedy film Real Genius, Val moved on to the military action film Top Gun, where he played naval aviator Tom Iceman, starring alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 massive box office hit.
Val gained great prominence by perfectly portraying the energetic persona and aura of American singer-songwriter-poet Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 film The Doors.
The actor continued to evolve and cement his position in the 1990s with True Romance, Heat, The Saint and of course, playing Batman in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever.
Among other names in the lineup of his films were The Prince of Egypt, The Snowman, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
In 2022, Val reprised his role of Tom Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, which marked his final on-screen appearance.
Married to English actress Joanne Whalley from 1988 to 1996, the actor is survived by his children, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer.
In 2020, Val published his memoir titled I’m Your Huckleberry: A Memoir.
His documentary film Val, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, captured his career and health struggles.
