Brooding, handsome leading man Val Kilmer, 65, died on April 1 after years of ill health. Kilmer became a star out of the gate with the spy spoof Top Secret!, and went on to success after success: Top Gun, Billy the Kid, The Doors, True Romance, Tombstone, Batman Forever. His stardom faded by 2000, with illness, weight gain, and rumors of irksome behavior. But he kept on working, though his voice was a hoarse shadow, with his throat cancer diagnosis (his last film was Top Gun: Maverick, in 2022). Kilmer was married (1988-96) to actress Joanne Whalley. He once said that “Interesting characters are troubled characters. The only problem I've had in my business is very few people – unfortunately, very vocal – confusing the difficult role that I play with me. I play these guys, but I'm not like them. I've been accused of being difficult to work with. But that's like saying the football player's out of breath 'cause when he comes off the field having caught a hundred-yard pass he shouldn't be out of breath. He's not out of shape; he just went and did his job.”
