Entertainment

Legendary actor Val Kilmer dies at 65

Published

11 months ago

April 2, 2025

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Prolific American actor Val Kilmer, who was propelled to fame with “Top Gun” and went on to starring roles as Batman and Jim Morrison, has died at age 65, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The cause of death was pneumonia, his daughter Mercedes Kilmer told the Times. He had battled throat cancer following a 2014 diagnosis, but later recovered, she said.

AFP has reached out to his representatives for comment.

Originally a stage actor, Kilmer burst onto the big screen full of charisma, cast as a rock star in Cold War spoof “Top Secret!” in 1984.

Two years later, he gained fame as the cocky, if mostly silent fighter pilot in training Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in box office smash hit “Top Gun,” playing a rival to Tom Cruise’s “Maverick.”

A versatile character actor whose career spanned decades, Kilmer toggled between blockbusters and smaller-budget independent films. He got a shot at leading man status in Oliver Stone’s “The Doors,” depicting Jim Morrison’s journey from a psychedelics-loving LA film student to 60s rock frontman.

After a cameo in Quentin Tarantino-written “True Romance,” Kilmer went on to star alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in “Heat” and took a turn as the masked Gotham vigilante in “Batman Forever,” between the Bruce Wayne portrayals by Michael Keaton and George Clooney.

A 1996 Entertainment Weekly cover story dubbed Kilmer “The Man Hollywood Loves to Hate,” depicting him as a sometimes surly eccentric with exasperating work habits.

A New York Times interviewer in 2002 said Kilmer “hardly lives up to that reputation” and found the actor instead “friendly, buoyant and so open that he often volunteers personal details about his life and is quick to laugh at himself.”

“You have to learn to speak Val,” director D. J. Caruso told the newspaper.– ‘ Magical life’ –Born Val Edward Kilmer on New Year’s Eve 1959, he began acting in commercials as a child.

Kilmer was the youngest person ever accepted to the drama department at New York’s fabled Juilliard school, and made his Broadway debut in 1983 alongside Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon.

In Hollywood, the Los Angeles native longed to make serious films but found himself in a series of schlocky blockbusters and expensive flops in the early 2000s.

Chastened by a decade or more of low-budget movies, he was mounting a comeback in the 2010s with a successful stage show about Mark Twain that he hoped to turn into a film when he was struck by cancer.

“Val,” an intimate documentary about Kilmer’s stratospheric rise and later fall in Hollywood, premiered at the Cannes film Festival in 2021 and showed him struggling for air after a tracheotomy.

Kilmer “has the aura of a man who was dealt his cosmic comeuppance and came through it,” US publication Variety wrote of the film.

“He fell from stardom, maybe from grace, but he did it his way.”When he reprised his role as “Iceman” in the long-awaited sequel “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kilmer’s real-life health issues,and rasp of voice,were written into the character.“

Instead of treating Kilmer — and, indeed, the entire notion of Top Gun — as a throwaway nostalgia object, he’s given a celluloid swan song that’ll stand the test of time,” GQ wrote.

On his website, Kilmer said he had led a “magical life.”

“For more than half a century, I have been honing my art, no matter the medium. Be it literature, movies, poetry, painting, music, or tracking exotic and beautiful wildlife,” he wrote.

According to the Times, he is survived by two children, Mercedes and Jack Kilmer.

AFP

Related Topics:Dies Hollywood Actor Val Kilmer

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Nollywood’s Mercy Johnson Becomes Governor Okpebholo’s Special Adviser

Johnson-Okojie, in her new role as special adviser on public engagement and advocacy, would deploy her vast public influence, communication expertise and grassroots reach to strengthen citizens’ engagement with government policies and programmes.

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Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has appointed prominent actress, Mercy Johnson-Okojie, as special adviser on public engagement and advocacy.

Johnson-Okojie was, in 2017, appointed as senior special assistant (SSA) on Entertainment, Arts and Culture to former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

This is disclosed by Secretary to Edo State Government, Musa Ikhilor, describing Johnson-Okojie as an accomplished Nigerian actress, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

“Johnson-Okojie, in her new role as special adviser on public engagement and advocacy, would deploy her vast public influence, communication expertise and grassroots reach to strengthen citizens’ engagement with government policies and programmes,” said the statement.

It said the appointment underscored Governor Okpebholo’s commitment to harnessing the expertise, credibility and public goodwill of distinguished Nigerians in advancing the administration’s vision for a prosperous and united Edo State.

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Donald Trump: I love Nicki Minaj

In a video of the event circulating online, Trump told the audience: “How about Nicki Minaj? Do we love Nicki Minaj? I love Nicki Minaj. She was here a couple of weeks ago. She’s so beautiful, her skin’s so beautiful. I said, ‘Nikki, you’re so beautiful.’ Her nails are so long.”

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United States President Donald Trump has expressed admiration for American rapper Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, popularly known as Nicki Minaj, describing her as “so beautiful”.

Speaking at a Black History Month event in Washington, the 79-year-old president praised the 43-year-old rapper’s appearance in remarks that quickly went viral on social media.

He continued, recounting a lighthearted exchange with the rapper during her recent visit.

“I said, Nikki, are they real? She didn’t want to get into that, but she was so beautiful and so great. And she gets it, more importantly,” Trump said.

According to the president, he first took note of Minaj’s appearance when she visited the White House in recent weeks.

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The images, posted on her X account, carried the caption: “Happy President’s Day.”

Reports also indicate that the rapper attended the Trump-backed World Liberty Forum on Wednesday, where she participated as a keynote speaker on a panel titled “Owning the Culture: The Business of Music in a Creator-Led Economy.”

Minaj previously met Trump in January at the Trump Accounts Summit in Washington, D.C., where she stood beside him and described herself as the “president’s No. 1 fan.”

Entertainment

Nollywood Actress Aunty Ajara dies after illness

We also use this opportunity to appeal to those sending money not to send it anymore. The one we are contributing for her sake is no more. Thank you so much. We do not want you to send money into that account again.”

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Nollywood actress Ajara Lasisi, popularly known as Aunty Ajara, is dead.

Her death was announced this morning by Nollywood director, Tobi Oladele Teemony, also known as Tee Mony.

In a statement shared on Instagram, he said: “With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our beloved actress, Aunty Ajara.

Aunty Ajara died overnight after a long and courageous battle with illness.

Teemony said that the dead actress received “immense love, prayers, and financial support from kind-hearted people across the world during her illness.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who stood by her with prayers, contributions, encouragement, and compassion,” he added.

He also urged members of the public to stop sending donations to the account previously shared for her treatment, stating that financial contributions were “no longer required”.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, loved ones, and everyone grieving this painful loss,” the statement added.

Following her death, her elder brother, Ridwan Lasisi, said that the families appreciate the efforts of the Hollywood president and all industry members.

“We also use this opportunity to appeal to those sending money not to send it anymore. The one we are contributing for her sake is no more. Thank you so much. We do not want you to send money into that account again.”