Hooray for Hollyweird! Today, it’s RIP for Val Kilmer

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I’m taking a break from Hooray for Hollyweird today to give due to Val Kilmer who died of pneumonia on April 1, 2025. You remember him best in four roles: “Iceman” in “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise; as comedy spy “Nick Rivers” in “Top Secret” in his first film; “Chris Knight” the brainiac student in “Real Genius;” and as “Doc Holliday” in “Tombstone” with Kurt Russell.

While not part of motion pictures’ elite, Kilmer rarely disappointed in a film, even if the film was a disappointment. He managed to carve out a couple of iconic roles (say, “Iceman”) and a memorable line still often quoted  (“I’m your huckleberry” from “Tombstone”). All-in-all, a career worthy of remembering.

For myself, Kilmer was best in three films …

  • … “Top Secret” from the Zuckers and Jim Abrahams with it’s “machinegun the audience with jokes” approach to film comedy (… and “don’t call me Shirley”) with Kilmer delivering comedy, being the straight man at times and even singing – he sang two songs that were on the soundtrack of “Top Secret” under the name of his character “Nick Rivers” – try “Skeet Surfin’” from the opening credits (click here).
  • … “Real Genius” in which he played “Chris Knight” and led a fellow genius down both the right and wrong paths, but ultimately the best path. “Real Genius” is an anti-establishment movie, but you’ll forget the storyline long before forgetting the comedy.
  • … “Willow” from director Ron Howard. Here’s a fantasy film you probably don’t recall and was the inspiration for a tee-vee series and Kilmer was the co-star as “Madmartigan” and his then-wife Joanne Whalley was “Sorsha,” who was his love interest in the adventure flick. A simply wonderful, underrated film.

I also enjoyed his work in “Heat” in which he was the over-the-top member of Robert De Niro’s robbery crew that squared off against the police headed by Al Pacino. However, this wasn’t among his more memorable efforts.

You also might remember him as Jim Morrison in “The Doors” or as “Batman” from “Batman Forever.” Also, don’t forget “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” and he was again “Iceman” in the sequel “Tom Gun: Maverick.”

Kilmer was reportedly sometimes “difficult” during productions, but I prefer seeing actors on-screen and not learning every single detail about them, their lives and especially their political beliefs.

It’s a streaming world, so you won’t have any trouble finding films with Kilmer … and then you’ll definitely say … “Hooray for Hollyweird!”

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