Val Kilmer’s Cause of Death Revealed After ‘Top Gun’ Star Died at Age 65

Val Kilmer’s official cause of death has been revealed.

According to a death certificate released by the Los Angeles County Department of Health and obtained by TMZ on Thursday, April 10, Kilmer’s immediate cause of death has been confirmed as pneumonia.

Underlying causes listed on the death certificate include acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure and squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue.

According to the certificate, malnutrition and a tracheocutaneous fistula — often a complication of tracheostomy — were also contributing factors. He was 65.

TMZ reported that Kilmer was cremated on Monday, April 7, or a week after his death.

Earlier this month, news broke that the Top Gun actor reportedly died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, according to The New York Times who spoke with Kilmer’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, on April 1. (Kilmer is also survived by his son, Jack, whom he shares with ex-wife Joanne Whalley.)

Days later, his family released a statement confirming the actor’s death.

“Thank you for honoring our extraordinary father’s memory,” the Batman Forever star’s family said to People. “We are so proud of him and honored to see his legacy celebrated. At this time, we would like to grieve privately.”

Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and was later featured in a July 2021 documentary about his life, titled Val. The project showed him requiring a breathing tube.

After a long career in Hollywood, the actor became best known for his performances in 1986’s Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise, in addition to portraying Jim Morrison in 1991’s The Doors and Batman in 1995’s Batman Forever.

Many costars were quick to pay tribute to Kilmer and share fond memories of the actor after his death.

“I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer, for a moment,” Cruise, 62, began during an appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 3. “I can’t tell you how much I admired his work.”

Drew Barrymore also recalled working with Kilmer in Batman Forever.

“I was friends with Joel Schumacher, the director, who I thought of this morning because it was he and Val Kilmer that pulled me into Batman Forever,” she shared on an episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. “And Val Kilmer was so nice to me. He was so nurturing and kind and safe, which was a very important thing for me.”

She added, “I was like, ‘Nobody wants anything from me, they want things for me,’ which I thought was really interesting.”