Actor Val Kilmer’s official cause of death has been revealed by Los Angeles County officials almost two weeks after he died following a long health battle.
The Batman and Top Gun star passed away in Los Angeles aged 65 on April 1.
The actor’s official cause of death has been recorded as pneumonia, as reported by TMZ.
Documentation revealed by the Los Angeles County Department of Health showed Kilmer also had underlying causes.
These included acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure, and squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue.
Other factors listed on the death certificate were malnutrition and a tracheocutaneous fistula.
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The outlet reported Kilmer had been dealing with serious health issues for years — after a throat cancer battle in 2015, he lost much of his voice.
By the time of his final film role, Top Gun: Maverick, which came out in 2022, they had to use A.I. to recreate his voice.
The Juilliard-trained Kilmer amassed more than 100 credits during his 40-year career, mostly on the big screen, Variety notes.
Originally an aspiring stage actor, he broke out with his first movie, 1984’s Cold War romp Top Secret! from the Airplane! crew of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, and shot to stardom with his second, the techie teen comedy Real Genius.
File/Val Kilmer and Australia’s Nicole Kidman during 1995 ShoWest in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Kilmer followed that up with his first smash movie, starring as Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite Tom Cruise in 1984’s Top Gun.
He went on from there to be a vivid name in Hollywood.
