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The actor Val Kilmer died yesterday in Los Angeles. He was 65 years old. Kilmer played Jim Morrison, Batman and dozens of other characters in movies that helped define the 1980s and '90s for Gen X. Kilmer died of pneumonia, his daughter told the Associated Press. He had previously suffered from throat cancer. NPR's Neda Ulaby has our remembrance.
NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: Val Kilmer exploded onto screens in 1984 as a rock star turned spy in the Cold War comedy "Top Secret!"
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TUTTI FRUTTI")
VAL KILMER: (As Nick Rivers, vocalizing, singing) Tutti frutti.
ULABY: Audiences swooned for Hollywood's new heartthrob, with his megawatt California grin and a jawline so strong one critic compared it to a stop sign. Soon, Kilmer was going mano a mano with Tom Cruise as competing fighter pilots in the movie "Top Gun."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TOP GUN")
V KILMER: (As Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky) You can be my wingman anytime.
ULABY: A former star student at Juilliard, Kilmer thought the role of Iceman was a bit beneath him as he remembered in the autobiographical documentary "Val" from 2021.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "VAL")
JACK KILMER: (As Val Kilmer) I thought the script was silly and disliked warmongering in film.
ULABY: That voice does not belong to Val Kilmer. The documentary was narrated by his son, Jack. Kilmer started struggling with throat cancer in 2014. You can hear his difficulty speaking when he returned as Iceman in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TOP GUN: MAVERICK ")
V KILMER: (As Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky) The Navy needs Maverick.
ULABY: Kilmer was something of a character actor trapped in a leading man's body. He was attracted to complicated roles like rock star Jim Morrison, who he eerily resembled and played in Oliver Stone's 1991 film, "The Doors."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE DOORS")
V KILMER: (As Jim Morrison) I am the lizard king, I can do anything.
ULABY: Less successful were marquee roles in movies like "Batman Forever." Kilmer, as the caped crusader, seemed smothered by his heavy costume. In many ways, Kilmer modeled his career after Marlon Brando's. They were similarly intense, often maddening their co-stars and struggling to squeeze their outsized talents into conventional roles. One that Kilmer treasured playing was on stage as Hamlet.
V KILMER: (As Hamlet) That this too too solid flesh would melt, thaw...
ULABY: That's archival tape from the documentary, "Val."
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "VAL")
V KILMER: (As Hamlet) ...Resolve itself into a dew.
ULABY: He was a sweet prince and a singular star. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE DOORS SONG, "THE END") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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