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One of Val Kilmer’s final social media posts featured the late actor dressed up as Batman.
The late actor posted a series of photos and videos via Instagram on February 23, which appeared to be an homage to the DC Comics character he played in 1995. The social media carousel featured several Batman art pieces alongside clips of various actors who have played the superhero over the years.
Kilmer also included a selfie video in which he put on a Batman mask while hanging out with artist David Choe.
“It’s been a while,” he said, alluding to his past role in the 1995 movie Batman Forever.
Kilmer’s final two Instagram posts were uploaded on March 10 and March 22, respectively, and both showed off the actor’s recent art pieces that were for sale on his website.
“Some art hums like a power chord — loud, untamed, and unforgettable. If this one strikes the right note for you,” he wrote on March 10. The March 22 caption read, “It’s got that late-night glow. Cool tones with a low burn, like when the camp fire cools down but you’re still wide awake.”
Kilmer’s family announced on April 1 that the actor had died in Los Angeles at age 65 from pneumonia. He had previously been diagnosed with throat cancer.
Aside from his past Batman role, Kilmer was known for playing Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in 1985’s Top Gun, a character he briefly reprised for the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick. Kilmer also portrayed late musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
The actor spoke briefly about his throat cancer journey after going public with his diagnosis in 2017.
Kilmer was initially diagnosed in 2014 but was cancer-free by 2016. That same year, however, he underwent a tracheostomy that left his vocal cords permanently damaged.
“I can’t speak without plugging this hole [in my throat],” he said during his 2021 documentary, Val. “You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat.”
Kilmer noted during the film, which was narrated largely by his son Jack Kilmer, that he sounds “much worse” than he feels.
“It’s an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me,” Kilmer further said when addressing his voice. “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. I am blessed.”
