2026 Feet Under

[davertfnewman]

Richard Chamberlain is the first person I can ever remember someone telling me was gay. We had a repeat of The Three Musketeers on TV and my gran came out with her recently acquired knowledge that he "likes men". This was after me seeing Ziggy Stardust in a TV Times and my mom not having the words to describe him (not many people in Cannock could say 'androgynous' back then).

[Lenin]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/movies/val-kilmer-dead.html

 

I had no idea his health had been so bad recently. Fairly young as well. Not familiar with a lot of his movies (other than Heat, which was incredible) but a shame nonetheless.

Edited April 2, 2025 by Lenin

[davertfnewman]

Yeah, been really bad with throat cancer, which he tried to keep quiet for a long time, but it effectively cost him his voice. Iceman, Madmartigan, Jim Morrison, Doc Holliday, Batman, many more great roles. Hopefully his suffering is over.

[Jazzy G]

That's a shame. His turn as Elvis in True Romance was good. He was a decent Bruce Wayne, too. 

As mentioned he'd not been well for a while. Didn't they have to dub his lines for some of his later appearances? Hopefully he's not suffering now. 

[SaitoRyo]

Damn. 

I don't know if I ever watched a film specifically because Val Vilmer was in it, but he was decent to very good in a bunch of stuff that I've seen him in. Kill Me Again, Thunderheart, Tombstone, Heat, MACGRUBER! There are others. 

I also appreciate that he was one of the last maverick movie stars who had a proper ego, but also undeniable talent. It's kind of funny how much he was able to piss off some of the people within the industry, including heavyweights like Brando and John Frankenheimer. 

It was sad seeing his decline in recent years. I'm glad he was able to do the Val documentary retrospective a few years back. 

RIP.

[Devon Malcolm]

His scene with Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick is all the more poignant now.

Highly recommend his documentary, Val. It's lovely viewing.

[Carbomb]

For me, it's his performance as Gay Perry in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - a great film all round, and he's one of the best things in it. a fairly indifferent Batman, but pretty much everything else I've seen him in, he was ace.

RIP.

[SuperBacon]

Some of my fondest memories of my childhood is watching Top Secret! with my old man and him belly laughing all the way through it. 

Always enjoyed watching Val.

[BomberPat]

2 hours ago, Jazzy G said:

Didn't they have to dub his lines for some of his later appearances? Hopefully he's not suffering now. 

I think in Top Gun Maverick his lines were AI generated from samples of his voice. In the Willow series, his son voiced his character.

Aside from the films already mentioned, I have a real soft spot for the dreadful Island of Dr Moreau movie, and him and Brando both being absolute lunatics is a big reason why. Love him in Tombstone, too. 

[SuperBacon]

Lovely. 

[JLM]

5 hours ago, Carbomb said:

For me, it's his performance as Gay Perry in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - a great film all round, and he's one of the best things in it. a fairly indifferent Batman, but pretty much everything else I've seen him in, he was ace.

RIP.

Yep, Gay Perry is my favourite too. Tremendous performance. Also he’s in True Romance for about two minutes and his performance as mirror Elvis still pops into my head every so often. “I like you Clarence. Always have, always will.” 

RIP.

[Jazzy G]

13 hours ago, Carbomb said:

a fairly indifferent Batman

I think my friend explained it best: Val Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne, Michael Keaton was a good Batman. 

[Carbomb]

48 minutes ago, Jazzy G said:

I think my friend explained it best: Val Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne, Michael Keaton was a good Batman. 

I'm not sure Kilmer did much for me in either role, to be honest. It wasn't a great film. Best thing about it was Carrey's Riddler, which was bang on, and the soundtrack.

[Thunderplex]

Clem Burke, the legendary drummer from Blondie had passed from cancer aged 70.  Personal hero of mine, very sad indeed.

[Statto]

That's sad, cracking drummer.

First thing that always leaps to mind when I hear his name was the scientific study that was done on him/his drumming that showed he had a fitness level at least equivalent to a top division footballer to be able to play a 90 minute set every night. That would have been about 15 years ago I guess, so when he was in his 50s.