Valhalla

 I have mentioned here a number of times that I once worked in a video store. Unlike Quentin Tarantino, I did not turn that job into a career that had me writing and directing feature films. It did give me a considerable depth of appreciation for the pop culture of the nineteen eighties. A sizable chunk of that came from repeat viewings of the films of that time. One of the stars of those movies was Val Kilmer. Starting with the wacky mashup of World War II and Elvis movies, Top Secret, I greeted each new offering from Mister Kilmer with mild anticipation. The following year he showed up in what could be considered the seed for the television series The Big Bang Theory, a college romp called Real Genius. Val's career was on a fast track that put him on the screen next to Tom Cruise in Top Gun. 

Shortly after that, his choices began to diverge. The same year that he appeared in a fantasy collaboration between Ron Howard and George Lucas called Willow, he brought his talents to the University of Colorado Shakespeare Festival, playing Hamlet.That same summer while he was probably busy signing copies of his book of poetry at local bookstores, a fellow video store employee walked in with a basket of laundry. She announced with enthusiasm that she would not be staying long, but as the assistant dresser to Mister Kilmer at the Shakespeare Festival, she had been next door at the laundromat with a load of his dirty clothes. Including his undies. 

That is a degree of separation I only have with one movie star: Val Kilmer's underwear. Plain white briefs for those of you who ponder such things. 

From there he went on to portray a vast array of characters, ranging from Doc Holliday to Jim Morrison to Batman. That last one came at a time when a lot of actors took a swing at being the Caped Crusader, but those other two gentlemen, Doc and Jim, those were closer to the center of who Val Kilmer was as an actor. Taking risks and reveling in the opportunities he had as an artist. His success as an actor allowed him to explore music, painting, photography and sculpture. 

It is perhaps ironic that one of his later roles had him appearing as the voice of KITT the car in the reboot of Knight Rider. Ironic since a few years after that, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. His acting career was curtailed, but he never stopped creating. Even his recent passing was marked by donning his modified Batman cowl one last time was a spritely artistic scene. It was there that he announced that he was "ready to go." 

Which he did. 

Val Kilmer stomped on the stage as well as the Terra, and he will be missed. Aloha, Mister Kilmer.