By India McCarty
Val Kilmer’s official cause of death has been confirmed following his passing on April 1.
“Thank you for honoring our extraordinary father’s memory,” Kilmer’s family shared in a statement given to Fox News Digital upon his death. “We are so proud of him and honored to see his legacy celebrated.”
In a death certificate obtained by TMZ, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health stated Kilmer’s death was due to pneumonia. Secondary causes included acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure and squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue. Kilmer was 65.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes, who confirmed the news of his death in emails to The New York Times and AP News, had initially shared that Kilmer died of pneumonia.
The TOP GUN actor had been battling throat cancer since 2014 but shared he was cancer-free in 2021.
“I have behaved poorly. I have behaved bravely. I have behaved bizarrely to some. I deny none of this and have no regrets, because I have lost and found parts of myself that I never knew existed,” Kilmer stated in VAL, the 2021 documentary about his life and career. “And I am blessed.”
Speaking about her father in a 2021 interview, Mercedes told PEOPLE, “He’s such a layered person, there’s the childlike playfulness, but then there’s also the deep wisdom of somebody who’s been on a spiritual path their whole life at the same time. He’s a lot of opposites that make him incredibly interesting.”
Kilmer’s friends and co-stars are also paying tribute to the BATMAN actor.
“I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer,” friend and TOP GUN co-star Tom Cruise said during an appearance at this year’s CinemaCon. “I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honored I was when he joined TOP GUN and came back later for TOP GUN: MAVERICK.”
Cruise asked the audience to have a moment of silence in honor of Kilmer,“because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.”
“I wish you well on the next journey,” Cruise concluded.
Related: TOP GUN’s Val Kilmer Dies After Living ‘Blessed’ Life
Tom Cruise Leads Moment of Silence for Val Kilmer at CinemaCon: ‘I Wish You Well on Your Next Journey’
More: https://t.co/YHc5G9rEBH pic.twitter.com/pZLTLA4xow
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) April 3, 2025
Friend and former girlfriend Cher also shared a sweet tribute to Kilmer on X, calling him “Funny, crazy…[a] GREAT FRIEND” and “brilliant.”
Kilmer’s passing was a blow to family, friends and fans alike, and the continuing outpouring of love is proof of how much he meant to so many around the world.
Read Next: Tom Cruise Honors ‘Dear Friend’ and TOP GUN Co-Star Val Kilmer
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