‘Batman’ actor dies at age 65
Val Kilmer – famous actor of the movies ‘Batman Forever’, ‘Top Gun’ – passed away on April 1 due to pneumonia.
Val Kilmer’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, announced the sad news to The New York Times on the night of April 1 (noon today Hanoi time). She said her father was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2014, had treatment and then recovered.

The actor underwent a tracheostomy to aid in his recovery. In the 2021 documentary VAL, Val Kilmer was seen using a device to assist with his speech. The film, which documents the Hollywood star’s health struggles and career, was screened at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Val Kilmer’s last on-set appearance was in Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2023—the sequel to the 1986 classic, where he reunited with Tom Cruise. His role in the film was brief but featured a touching scene with Cruise before his character succumbed to illness.

Val Kilmer in ‘Top Gun’ in 1986.
Val Kilmer was born in 1959 and is an American actor. He became famous after his role as pilot Iceman in the movie Top Gun (1986). After that, Val Kilmer was invited to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever in 1995 with Nicole Kidman and Jim Carrey. Other notable movies of Val Kilmer include The Doors, Tombstone, True Romance, The Ghost and the Darkness…

Val Kilmer and Nicole Kidman in ‘Batman Forever’.
The actor underwent a tracheostomy to aid in his recovery. In the 2021 documentary VAL, Val Kilmer was seen using a device to assist with his speech. The film, which documents the Hollywood star’s health struggles and career, was screened at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Val Kilmer’s last on-set appearance was in Top Gun: Maverick, released in 2023—the sequel to the 1986 classic, where he reunited with Tom Cruise. His role in the film was brief but featured a touching scene with Cruise before his character succumbed to illness.
Personal Life & Relationships
Val Kilmer married actress Joanne Whalley in 1988 after meeting on the set of Willow (1988). The couple had two children: Mercedes Kilmer (born in 1991) and Jack Kilmer (born in 1995), both of whom pursued acting careers. Kilmer and Whalley divorced in 1996.
Throughout his life, Val Kilmer was romantically linked to several Hollywood stars, including Cher, Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, and Daryl Hannah.