The Van Val Kilmer family broke their silence about his tragic death at the age of 65, after his 11-year-old struggle with throat cancer, earlier this week.
In a statement obtained by people, two children, Mercedes and Jack, expressed their gratitude to everyone who honors their 'extraordinary father'.
“We are so proud of him and honored to see his legacy celebrating,” said Val's two children, who shared Val with his ex-wife Joanne Whalley. “At the moment we want to mourn private.”
Mercedes confirmed that her father died on Tuesday from pneumonia in Los Angeles on the New York Times.
The screen icon was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and underwent surgery, including a tracheotomy that significantly influenced his ability to speak. He was later declared cancer freely.
Kilmer was known for his role as Iceman in the Hitfilm Top Gun in 1986 and as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Batman of 1995 Forever. Despite his permanently damaged voice, he returned a short return to the screen in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick, who repeated his role as Iceman opposite Tom Cruise. It was his last appearance on a large screen.
The Van Val Kilmer family broke their silence over his shock at the age of 65 earlier this week; Seen with his daughter Mercedes in 2019
The resident of Los Angeles also played famous musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 film The Doors.
Kilmer underwent both radiotherapy and chemotherapy for his cancer, as well as a tracheostomy a procedure to create an artificial gap in this neck to help him breathe.
The last damaged his vocal cords permanently permanent and therefore changed his striking voice forever.
Kilmer reported in 2020 that he had been cancer -free for four years.
In the Amazon Prime documentary entitled Val, Kilmer spoke frankly about life with the consequences of throat cancer, including the use of an electrical device called a voice box on the artificial hole in his throat to talk.
'I clearly sound much worse than I feel. I can't speak without connecting this gap [in his throat]”He said.
A voting box device is usually a machine on batteries that produces sound to make a voice and is used to help people who suffer suffering in throat cancer.
The actor, who also had to have meals through a food tube, explained some of the other challenges.
In a statement obtained by people, two children, Mercedes and Jack (seen in 2021), expressed their gratitude to all those who honor their 'extraordinary fathers' memory'
'You have to make the choice to breathe or eat. It is an obstacle that is very present with the person who sees me, “he said.
Val's son took care of the voice-over storytelling of the documentary, but his lines were written by Val himself.
Val was accompanied by his daughter, Mercedes, during his last public performance at the annual Thespians Go Hollywood Gala in Avalon Hollywood in 2019.
Over the years, Val spoke about his close relationship with his two children and priority gives time spending time with them in the midst of his health struggle and demanding career.
Earlier, the versatile actor revealed to Vanity Fair that he turned working with '10 really great directors to put his family and marriage first.
“I can't be a responsible parent and there are only three or four months a year,” he explained.
“We are so proud of him and honored to see his legacy celebrating,” said Val's two children, who shared Val with his ex-wife Joanne Whalley. 'At the moment we want private mourning' (fall seen in 2019)
In 2020 he said to people: 'I am just insane, wildly entertained by them. My only complaint is that I never see them enough, so I never get enough of the wild entertainment that everyone gets, but they are real, really, entertaining. '
While he spoke about her father's health struggle, prior to his death due to pneumonia on Tuesday evening, Mercedes tried to remain optimistic.
“We all spend so much time together,” she told The Outlet. “Even just to meet all my father's friends before I was born – there are so many beautiful things that happen when you need help from people.”
Mercedes previously revealed to the Hollywood Reporter that she could not remember that she was not aware of the fame of her parents.
“It was about navigating how other people observed us instead of any form of settlement,” she said during the 2017 interview.
Not long after her father was diagnosed with cancer, Mercedes recalled by a car.
“We were in the same hospital at the same time,” she told the outlet.
Kilmer was known for his role as Iceman in the hit Movie Top Gun from 1986 (seen in 1986)
In 2020 she described her father as a 'good friend' of her and 'a smart and creative person with whom she would like to hang out, even if he was not her father, for people.
In the same year she played his daughter on the screen in the film, Paydirt, after her father suggested that she would fit well with the role.
“Mercedes and the producer met, and they all had a ball,” he told people about how they ended up on the same film.
Mercedes explained that the experience helped her grow as an actress.
“It is clear that my father's speech was affected and therefore this whole experience revealed the personal effort I had made to work with a disability that I had never done before,” she explained.
He also played Batman/Bruce Wayne in the Batman Forever in 1995 (depicted in a still)
Mercedes continued: 'It revealed how much I had to win by working with people who have different skills. My father is able to bypass the limitations of his speech very artfully, so I learned so much to see him, how he communicated physically. It taught me so much about acting that expanded what I thought was acting, which was central in speech. '
Mercedes is also credited as an associated producer on the Prime Video documentary fall, which was released in 2021.
During an interview with Entertainment tonight, Mercedes confessed that the 'whole film' made her emotional.
Yet she said nothing 'surprised' her in the film when she said that her father is 'an open person' that she knew 'very well'.
