4/2/2025

 Val Kilmer passed away last night.  In so many ways, his work touched my life.

The first movie I remember going to the theaters and seeing was Top Gun. I watched it with my dad and brother in San Antonio. That day, we went to see two movies; it was my dad’s thing to go to San Antonio and watch two movies back-to-back. I was at my grandma’s house in Devine earlier in the day, and Dad was looking at the newspaper to see what times the movies played. I remember him saying we would watch Top Gun, and I didn’t want to watch a war movie. I didn’t know what it was about but wanted to watch something else. I couldn’t tell you the other movie we watched, but I remember watching Top Gun. That’s probably one of the best movies I ever saw in a theater. That and Home Alone. The crazy thing is that it was almost forty years ago, and that same location is still used as a movie theater today. I drive past there a couple times a year, and my mind always goes back to watching Top Gun there. 

Doc Holiday in Tombstone. What else needs to be said. Was this not the best movie character of all time? As a writer, I want to create a character like that. I know Doc Holiday was real, but Val Kilmer brought Doc Holiday back to life. When someone says Doc Holiday, they picture Val Kilmer in Tombstone in their minds. The attitude, mannerisms, and dialogue are something we may never see again. People can try to emulate that, but it will never be recreated. This character alone is enough to put Val Kilmer in talks of the best actor ever. 

Now, on to the scene in Heat. You know what I’m talking about. Every guy I know dreams of robbing a bank and getting in a shootout using those skills. It was one of the best shootout scenes in a movie ever. He’s throwing rounds in all directions, taking a knee. At the same time, he reloads, gets back up, throws five to ten rounds to the south, then turns and does the same thing in the opposite direction. It’s one of the coolest shootouts I’ve ever watched. Val Kilmer did such a good job in this scene that it is used to train people how to react in a gunfight. This is a scene every writer dreams of writing. 

Thanks for being such a good actor; your roles have entertained me and stayed with me for most of my life. Rest in Peace, Mr. Kilmer.