NEW YORK (AFP) – Prolific American actor Val Kilmer, who was propelled to fame with Top Gun and went on to starring roles as Batman and Jim Morrison, died at age 65, the New York Times reported.
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.
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 Los Angeles film student to 60s rock frontman.
