Val Kilmer’s cause of death confirmed

Officials have determined what killed actor Val Kilmer.

According to the death certificate, the “Top Gun” actor died of pneumonia with underlying causes listed as acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, chronic respiratory failure and squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue.

He also had malnutrition and a tracheocutaneous fistula.

Kilmer died on April 1 and was cremated on April 7.

His daughter, Mercedes, had said that he died of pneumonia.

He had been diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015 and lost most of his voice. AI was used to recreate his voice for his final role in “Top Gun: Maverick.”

He was also bedridden for the past few months.

Actor Val Kilmer, ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Batman Forever’ star, dies at 65

In his 2020 memoir, “I’m Your Huckleberry,” he wrote about his health, saying, “Reports emerged that I was in denial. Well, denial is a funny thing. I was not denying that I had had cancer but was simply saying I no longer did.”

“And to be honest,” he added, “it was very hard to embrace my original diagnosis. It was surreal. I didn’t believe I was decomposing, and I wasn’t ready to die.”

He said he ignored the symptoms of throat cancer, and had to cancel a show in 2014 because he lost his voice. He had noticed a lump in his throat and then realized he was having difficulty swallowing. He waited a year to get medical treatment.

“One night I suddenly awoke vomiting blood that covered the bed like a scene out of The Godfather‚” Kilmer wrote. He called 911 after praying.

That incident led to the chance diagnosis and he had to eventually had a tracheotomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

He wrote in 2020 that he had been declared cancer-free four years prior.

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