Episode 2892
Val Kilmer
Thu, 2025-Apr-03 10:34 UTC
Length - 3:30
Direct Link
Welcome to Popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.
With 3,981,188 views on Wednesday, 2 April 2025 our article of the day is Val Kilmer.
Val Edward Kilmer (December 31, 1959 – April 1, 2025) was an American actor. Initially a stage actor, he later found fame as a leading man in films in a wide variety of genres including comedies, dramas, action adventures, westerns, historical films, crime dramas, science-fiction films, and fantasy films. Films in which Kilmer appeared grossed more than $3.8 billion worldwide. In 1992, film critic Roger Ebert remarked, "if there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it."
Kilmer started his film career in the comedy films Top Secret! (1984) and Real Genius (1985), before transitioning to dramatic films. He rose to prominence for playing Iceman in Top Gun (1986), Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991), Doc Holliday in Tombstone (1993), and Batman / Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever (1995). He also gained acclaim for his roles in Willow (1988), True Romance (1993) and Heat (1995). His later film roles include in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Saint (1997), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Déjà Vu (2006), and The Snowman (2017). Kilmer made his final film appearance in Top Gun: Maverick (2022), reprising his role from the original film.
On stage, Kilmer made his Broadway debut acting in the John Byrne working class play The Slab Boys (1983). He also acted in productions of William Shakespeare's history play Henry IV, Part 1 (1981) and in the John Ford tragedy 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (1992) both at The Public Theater. He portrayed Mark Twain in a one-man show he had written entitled, Citizen Twain in a 2012 production in Los Angeles.
In 2015, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer. He subsequently underwent a tracheal procedure that damaged his vocal cords, leaving him with severe difficulty speaking. He also underwent chemotherapy and two tracheotomies, and died of pneumonia in 2025. He released his memoir, I'm Your Huckleberry: A Memoir (2020), and the documentary Val (2021), both of which detail struggles over his health and career.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 10:34 UTC on Thursday, 3 April 2025.
For the full current version of the article, see Val Kilmer on Wikipedia.
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