I read about Val Kilmer’s passing about an hour before bed last night. While I knew he had been sick for years, I was still saddened—and even shocked—to hear he had died.
Kilmer was one of my first Hollywood crushes. I have no idea how many times I watched Top Secret!, Real Genius, and Top Gun as a kid and teenager.
Even back then, I was torn between wanting to be more like him and wanting to marry someone like him. His movie-star good looks and acting chops made my heart go pitter-patter every time he entered a scene. I literally couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Over the years, his fame and being labeled a “genius” went to his head a bit too much for my taste. I worked with enough “difficult” actors to be thankful I never worked with him. But I am thankful I got to see him perform live.
A little over a decade ago, I had the rare chance to see Val Kilmer in Citizen Twain, a one-man show where he embodied the legendary writer and orator Mark Twain. It was unlike anything I’d seen before—intimate, raw, and deeply funny. Kilmer disappeared into Twain, capturing his wit, charm, and contradictions with an effortless grace. He wasn’t just performing; he was channeling.
Looking back, I’m grateful I got to witness that transformation in person. Val Kilmer was more than a movie star—he was an artist, a storyteller, and an undeniable force.
His on-screen work shaped so many of my early pop culture memories, and his passing feels like the loss of an old friend.
Rest easy, Iceman.
Clint 🌈✌️
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Smithsonian Institution Braces For Trump Rewrite Of US History (The Guardian)
Queer History On View In New Special Collections Exhibition (Penn State)
Val Kilmer Wrote Moving Last Instagram Post Before Death (Men’s Journal)
ON THIS DAY = APRIL 2
BIRTHDAYS
1805 = Hans Christian Andersen = Danish writer 🌈
1840 = Émile Zola = French writer
1875 = Walter Chrysler = American businessman and Chrysler founder
1891 = Max Ernst = German artist and poet
1902 = Jan Tschichold = German-Swiss graphic designer and typographer
1906 = R.W. Ketton-Cremer = English biographer and historian 🌈
1908 = Buddy Ebsen = American actor and dancer
1914 = Alec Guinness = English actor 🌈
1920 = Jack Stokes = English animator and director
1920 = Jack Webb = American actor and filmmaker
1923 = Gloria Henry = American actor
1939 = Marvin Gaye = American singer-songwriter
1942 = Leon Russell = American singer-songwriter
1943 = Antonio Sabàto, Sr. = Italian actor
1945 = Linda Hunt = American actor 🌈
1947 = Emmylou Harris = American singer-songwriter
1947 = Camille Paglia = American author and critic
1956 = David Bohnett = American philanthropist and tech entrepreneur 🌈
1961 = Christopher Meloni = American actor
1962 = Billy Dean = American singer-songwriter
1962 = Clark Gregg = American actor
1975 = Pedro Pascal = Chilean and American actor
1977 = Michael Fassbender = German-Irish actor and producer
1996 = Zach Bryan = American singer-songwriter
EVENTS
1513 = Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach it.
1792 = The Coinage Act is passed by Congress, establishing the US Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 Half-Eagle, $2.50 Quarter-Eagle gold coins, and the silver dollar, half dollar, quarter, dime, and half-dime.
1800 = Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony.
1902 = "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.
1956 = As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.
1968 = 2001: A Space Odyssey premiered in Washington, D.C.
1972 = Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.
1973 = LexisNexis, the computerized legal research service, launches.
1978 = Dallas premieres on CBS.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool that follows it?”
Alec Guinness
“Personally, I have only one great regret - that I never dared enough. If at all.”
Alec Guinness
Perhaps it is my loss that I know so little about Val Kilmer. Rarely, a movie goer. I don't believe anyone dies - except for the meat and bones.
Sad day - didn't we all have a crush on the Iceman