Val Kilmer Dead: ‘Top Gun’ Actor Dies at Age 65 From Pneumonia, Hollywood Pays Tribute

Actor Val Kilmer has died at age 65. His daughter Mercedes Kilmer confirmed the news of her father’s death to The New York Times on Tuesday, April 1.

Mercedes told the outlet that the cause of death was pneumonia.

News of his unexpected passing rocked Hollywood, as tributes poured in from stars, friends and fans on social media.

“See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts,” Josh Brolin wrote in a tribute on Instagram.

“RIP Val Kilmer. If it wasn’t for our chance encounter at the Source in 1985, I may never have been cast in FULL METAL JACKET. Thanks, Val,” Matthew Modine wrote in a tribute posted on X.

“A long time ago, I was auditioning for the movie ‘The Doors’ It was kind of a cattle call. They paired together potential Jims with potential Pamela‘s. And they were running behind so we were spilling out of the casting office, sitting on the porch, the lawn, and the driveway,” Jennifer Tilly wrote on X.  “All of a sudden, a sixties convertible came screeching up, blaring Doors Music at top volume. And a guy jumped out and strode inside: He had wild hair and he was barefoot, shirtless, and wearing nothing but a pair of tight leather pants. We all looked at each other like… Who is this guy? We were more than a little shook by the sheer audacity of his entrance. Well of course it was Val Kilmer and from that minute on, nobody else stood a chance. Rip King.”

“While working with Val on Heat I always marveled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character. After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news,” director Michael Mann told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement.

In the years before his death, Val battled throat cancer, which affected his speaking voice.

“Now that it’s more difficult to speak, I want to tell my story more than ever,” he said in his 2021 documentary, Val.

“I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel,” he said in the film, per People. “I can’t speak without plugging this hole [in his throat]. You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat. It’s an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me.”

He opened up about his health in a post on his website in April 2022.

“Six years ago, I was diagnosed with throat cancer, and after much prayer, medical science, and the love of my family and community, I beat cancer,” he wrote. “But because of the radiation and chemotherapy interventions, my voice and throat were severely damaged. It isn’t easy to talk and be understood. I am improving all the time, but am not able to be out in the world the same way I had become accustomed. When one thing is taken, though, another is given.”