Hollywood icon Val Kilmer dies at 65 from pneumonia

Hollywood star Val Kilmer has died from pneumonia at the age of 65.

His daughter Mercedes Kilmer, 33, told the New York Times her father died from pneumonia, a lung condition that makes breathing difficult. It is one of the most common causes of death worldwide.

Val had suffered health struggles over the past decade, having been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, a battle he candidly discussed in his 2020 memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry.

He later recovered from the disease but lost his voice during treatment and used an electric voice box to communicate.

Val rose to fame after starring in Top Gun before going on to portray Jim Morrison and Batman.

The actor, who played Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise, previously admitted he didn't want the role, which made him famous.

But he said he begged to be part of the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, even going as far as contacting the producers and creating "heartrending scenes with Iceman." It would be his final acting role.

Born on December 31, 1959, in Los Angeles, Val's career spanned over four decades, during which he became one of Hollywood’s most respected performers.

One of Val's most challenging roles came in director Oliver Stone's The Doors (1991), in which he played Jim Morrison, the charismatic and ultimately doomed lead singer of the influential rock band The Doors.

To try to persuade Oliver to cast him, Val put together an eight-minute video of himself singing and looking like Van Morrison at various points in his life. Val's own singing voice is used in the film.

Val separated from his wife of eight years, actress Joanne Whalley, in 1996.

The couple shared two children, daughter Mercedes and son Jack, the latter of whom was born in 1995.

Val, who made his feature film debut in the 1986 action comedy Top Secret!, had a reputation for being “difficult” to work with. Notably, it was heavily reported Val and Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher didn’t get along during production.

Participating in a Reddit forum Q&A in 2017, Val made a rare admission about the diva reports that had plagued him over the years.

“I didn’t do enough hand-holding and flattering and reassuring to the financiers,” the actor wrote at the time.

“I only cared about the acting and that didn’t translate to caring about the film or all that money.

“Sometimes when you are the head of a project and the lead actor is usually the reason a film is being made, unless it’s a superstar director, then it’s only fair to make people feel good and happy they are at work. I was often unhappy trying to make pictures better.”

He also became known for his flurry of high-profile partners, including brief romances with Cher, Cindy Crawford, Daryl Hannah, Angelina Jolie, and Ellen Barkin.

In his 2020 memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, Kilmer wrote it was his breakup from US actress Hannah, whom he dated in 2001, which hurt the most.

“Lord knows I’ve suffered heartache. But Daryl was by far the most painful of all,” he wrote.

“I knew I would love her with my whole heart forever and that love has lost none of its strength.”

In the book, he also claimed he hadn’t “had a girlfriend in 20 years.”

“The truth is I am lonely part of every day,” he wrote.

Actor Josh Brolin called Kilmer a "smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker".

Sharing a picture of the two on Instagram he wrote: "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."

In an Instagram post, actor Josh Gad called Kilmer "an icon".

He said: "RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon."

-  news.com.au and republished with permission and edits via NZ Herald.