Val Kilmer, Batman Forever star, dies at 65 after throat cancer battle; experts warn breathing and swallowing issues can be early signs

Hollywood's Batman Forever, Val Kilmer, also popular for his roles in Top Gun, passed away at the age of 65 on Tuesday night, April 1, 2025. According to The New York Times, which broke the news first, Val Kilmer died of pneumonia in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes Kilmer quoted in the report.

Val Kilmer, who played the role of the competitive naval aviator Tom Iceman Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise in the 1986 mega box office hit, was also diagnosed with throat cancer. In a documentary about his life that premiered at Cannes in July 2021, the actor was seen needing a breathing tube.

This has also been revealed by his daughter Mercedes, who told the NYT that her father was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but he recovered later. What are the risks of developing throat cancer?

Val Kilmer is part of one of the greatest heist sequences in film history . Everything about Kilmer in this moment in Heat feels so real. Val Kilmer was just that dude: a vintage Hollywood bad-ass. pic.twitter.com/h9mY6tzMgP

¡ª Cinema Tweets (@CinemaTweets1) April 2, 2025

Val Kilmer suffered throat cancer: How does it develop?

The Batman Forever actor, Val Kilmer, was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered. ¡°Throat cancer, particularly when it is diagnosed at advanced stages, tends to have a high risk of being fatal. The risk is basically associated with the tendency of the cancer to metastasise (spread) to adjacent tissues like the lymph nodes, lungs, or other organs,¡± Dr. Anil Thakwani, Director-Oncology, Sharda Hospital, Greater Noida. Moreover, the site of the cancer in the throat may make breathing, swallowing, and speaking challenging, causing extreme disruptions in an individual's lifestyle. ¡°If not treated, the cancer could block the airway, resulting in suffocation, or result in fatal damage to critical organs due to the cancer cell spread,¡± adds Dr. Thakwani.

In most instances, early throat cancer can be cured using a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Dr. Thakwani says, ¡°But where diagnosis is delayed or proper medical attention is not sought, late-stage diagnosis results, with reduced survival rates.¡±

Credit: X

Extensive throat cancer can be dealt with aggressively too, and yet the outcome can remain poor, particularly if there is distant metastasis.

Preventive measures for throat cancer

Throat cancer can be avoided by mitigating major lifestyle risk factors. ¡°The most effective preventive factors are not smoking and not drinking in excess, both of which are primary causes of throat cancer. Smokers are far more likely to develop throat cancer because carcinogens in tobacco directly harm throat tissues,¡± suggests Dr. Shrey Srivastava, Senior Consultant-Internal Medicine, Sharda Hospital.

Avoiding alcohol or reducing alcohol consumption, particularly along with smoking, can significantly minimise this risk.

Dr. Srivastava adds, ¡°Eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants, might also reduce the risk. Moreover, vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) is also strongly advised since some types of HPV are responsible for causing oropharyngeal cancers (throat cancers).¡±

Periodic follow-ups and screenings for individuals with a history of tobacco or alcohol consumption are also important.