Man, I don’t normally get choked up about celebrities but some of Val Kilmer’s movies got me through a pretty dark time in the late 90s. I was 8 when Willow came out, we wore that VHS out. In 2000 I lived in the boonies taking care of an indoor broccoli growing operation in Colorado. The only thing I had was 20 or so books, a box of VHS tapes, and a 13" TV VCR combo. I must have watched Tombstone and The Saint 10000 times.
I am still friends with the guy who worked with me and anytime he asks me what happened to or where is so and so I 100% answer with “He ran off to live in the forest, in the nude.”
The greatest swordsman that ever lived
Now I’m Sadmartigan.
I shall honor him by going Skeet Surfin’ tomorrow.
Thank you. Love this movie.
If everybody had a 12 gauge
With a sufboard too
You see em shootin’ and surfin’
From here to Malibu
The Saint will be missed.
Whew, thought i was gonna be the only weirdo that enjoyed that one.
Fuck. RIP Mr. Kilmer. What a fine human being. From Willow to Top Gun to Batman to so many from our childhoods. Looks like be watching a Val film this evening.
“Wyatt Earp is my friend.”
That scene always gets me, it’s one of the greatest in all cinema.
“hell I got lots of friends”
… “I don’t.”
God damn that scene gets me every time.
Any day we lose a Batman is a bad day. RIP Iceman.
His role as Gay Perry in Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang is underrated. He owned the role and outshone even the protagonist!
R.I.P. legend.
I got a reply from him on Reddit once. Well, maybe his assistant, but whatever. What a bummer. Definitely thought is peak role was on Top Secret. Loved that film so much! Guess I’m going to have to go watch it again
Tombstone and kiss kiss bang bang are my favorites
I hope he gets his sun god robes and thousands of women throw little pickles at him wherever he ends up.
Can’t forget Chris, from Heat. Took one in his neck. RIP
Not entirely surprising I guess, but still a sad one. Somehow stayed just a touch under the radar despite some of the most iconic roles of the 80s and 90s.
Under the radar? What?
Just that whatever level of fame he achieved, his talent and performances warranted more, IMHO, and between being choosy on projects, the occasional commercial dud, having a few of his greatest performances before he was a major name, and finding success in supporting roles while having “classic Hollywood” looks, there was just a disconnect. I have enjoyed his work much more than I have Tom Cruise’s, for instance.
IIRC he had throat cancer and why he slowed down acting
He was in a movie called Spartan. It’s about the same plot as Resident Evil 4. Badass soldier rescues the president’s daughter. Rarely see that movie mentioned but I thought it was very classic Val, just floating in that zone of crazy good acting and chewing up the scenery. Tombstone is probably my favorite of his movies but Spartan is a close second. I’m glad we all got to see this legend of an artist. May he rest in peace.
Spartan was a fantastic David Mamet movie, and he was great in it… like everything.
The Snowman movie with Michael Fassbender his voice was so bad (due to throat cancer) he had to be dubbed over with another voice. I was really excited seeing him in it though. Broke my heart learning about his voice and now his death.
RIP Mad Mardigan 🖤
Damn. I was literally talking to my other half about him yesterday. I didn’t know his health was so poor, though I knew he had lots of problems. Really an actor I appreciated later. At first he was just another pretty boy face, but as it turns out, he could actually act too. Moreau, Ghost, Doors, and Tombstone are all great roles, but I kinda wish he’d done more comedy. It was awesome to see him not take himself too seriously, and he was good at it. I’m sad to see an actor like him lost so early, he really was in so many films I enjoyed.
Time to go rewatch Top Secret, Tombstone, and Top Gun.
