Like Whatever Gen-X
Remember the 1980s and 1990s and all things Gen-X. Take a stroll down memory lane, drink from a hose, and ride until the street lights come on. We discuss the past, present, and future of the forgotten generation. From music to movies and television, to the generational trauma we all experienced we talk about it all. Take a break from today and travel back to the long hot summer days of nostalgia. Come on slackers, fuck around and find out with us!
Like Whatever Gen-X
Iceman and a Gunslinger
The passing of Val Kilmer has hit Gen X particularly hard, and in this raw, honest conversation, we explore why. When celebrities from our formative years begin to leave us, it forces us to confront our own mortality in ways we never expected.
We dive deep into Kilmer's remarkable career trajectory from his breakout role as Iceman in Top Gun to his transformation into Jim Morrison for The Doors, and his stint as the caped crusader in Batman Forever. Beyond the filmography, we unpack his colorful romantic history with fellow celebrities like Cher (who remained a lifelong friend), Cindy Crawford, and Angelina Jolie, discovering the tender ways he spoke about these relationships even years later.
Kilmer's battle with throat cancer adds another layer of poignancy to his story. The illness robbed him of his voice—a cruel twist for someone who once sang his own parts as Jim Morrison—but not his determination. His brief but meaningful appearance in Top Gun: Maverick became his final film role, bringing his career full circle.
Our conversation branches into the broader experience of watching our icons age and die alongside us, comparing the impact of different celebrity deaths from Prince to Anthony Bourdain. We reflect on the strange experience of reaching an age where our contemporaries are dying, not just our parents' generation of stars.
Whether you're a longtime Val Kilmer fan or simply navigating the complexities of midlife, this episode offers a meaningful exploration of legacy, mortality, and the unexpected ways celebrity deaths can make us examine our own lives. Join us for this heartfelt tribute and conversation about what it means to lose the stars who defined our youth.
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Two best friends, we're talking the past, From mistakes to arcades. We're having a blast.
Speaker 1:Teenage dreams, neon screens. It was all rad and no one knew me Like you know. It's like whatever. Together forever, we're never the best ever Laughing and sharing our stories. Clever, we'll take you back. It's like whatever.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Like Whatever a podcast for, by and about Gen X. I'm Nicole and this is my BFF, heather Hola, so I'm not going to ask you how your week was. It was crappy but you do have a few things to share.
Speaker 1:I do well first. Today is the anniversary of my uncle's passing.
Speaker 1:I forgot to tell you. I want to talk about that part. We shared a birthday. We were very he's one of my favorite people, so today is that anniversary. So today has been pretty rough, yes, but aside from the shitty week I've had in the past 50 years, a week and 50 years. So there was a dead whale. Another dead whale washed up. This one, contrary to popular belief, was not because of the windmills that we do not have yet, but, uh, it was a boat strike, which, okay here. So here's the thing like everybody's freaking out, oh, this is the third dead whale in like a year and a half. Um, we live at the beach and shit dies in the ocean and their occurrence Exactly. It's just, I think prior to now, you didn't know how many things died and floated up on the beach because there wasn't social media to tell you, right, how many things died.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Because it would just like when I was younger. It would be word of mouth Like you would hear hey, did you hear there was a whale on the beach and we would all run down, or you could smell it, right, um, so we'd all run down there and look at it right. So you're basically saying this has been happening since you were a child, exactly um, so anyway, this one got stuck in the bay and it got stuck on a sandbar, which is just a shame yes, like it's almost embarrassing yes, so they were having.
Speaker 1:they couldn't tow it off because they couldn't. It was too heavy and they couldn't pull it off. So they were like it's been like a week long saga of what they're going to do about this whale and I thought to myself, hey, why don't we just leave it where it is?
Speaker 2:Because there's for a lot of things.
Speaker 1:I don't understand it. Well, and the last I heard prior, it did dislodge and it has moved back out to sea.
Speaker 2:Oh, all by itself, oh look at that.
Speaker 1:So it's going to hit somebody else's beach and then everybody's going to be like oh, by the way, now there's another dead whale.
Speaker 2:Right so anyway, Maybe that's just this past year and a half is just the same one.
Speaker 1:Same. So anyway, that's just this past year and a half is just the same dead whale. So but then they were talking about blowing it up and I was like, but why can't we just leave it where it is?
Speaker 2:I've seen video of them blowing one up. It's not as fun as it might sound. And it's a, it's gross and B why can't you just leave it where it is Like? What is the problem?
Speaker 1:Yes, it didn't have a disease. It got hit in the head with the prop. That's what killed it. So let crabs and shit eat it.
Speaker 2:Well, it's unsightly. That's true. They don't want all their rich boaters to have to look at dead whales.
Speaker 1:That is true. Seeing the dead whale sit there, well, no, I don't know. It was a bit. It's been like a week long. And then yesterday I heard it had dislodged itself from the sandbar. The winds and the tides were just right and it moved it along and it's now it's back out to sea and it's probably gonna wash up in new jersey and then they're gonna be like, oh no, another dead whale and it's gonna be like no, although maybe not, because I think they did do a necropsy on it.
Speaker 1:So they're big chunks of it probably gone, gross, yeah. And then also I did get new shoes. And what kind of shoes did? I got me some doc martin sneakers. I know they're adorable they are cute, um, and they're not heavy like my boots and they um are probably appropriate for work. Well, I don't know, because today we got handed down that they're going to start doing shoe inspection inspections because that's what you all need to worry about right now you know she didn't look like she was too thrilled about having to look at our shoes every goddamn day.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I always feel bad for management when they get stupid stuff from management higher than this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so yeah, that's their current whatever, but yeah, they're very comfortable. I love them.
Speaker 2:But how about you? So I'm having one of those crazy busy weeks that I hate, but because I'm doing some extra stuff for work, I get to take Friday off, so that's amazing. But firstly I wanted to give a shout out to the protesters that participated in Hands Off this past weekend.
Speaker 2:I have some friends that went to DC. I have some friends that went to Rehoboth and just following everybody all over the country, I thought it was amazing. I was mad at myself. I kind of feel like I didn't really realize it was coming. Like my husband was even like, what's the protest? I was like, well, it's a fair question because it could be any number of things at this point.
Speaker 1:I have just been off of social media completely for the last week and a half point.
Speaker 2:I have just been off of social media completely for the last week and a half and I'm really mostly on it for the podcast, so I'm not looking at anything except like whatever pod, um, so uh, but yeah, but I did see people uh that participated and shout out to y'all because good job, it's awesome yes I appreciate you and if I know it's coming up next time, maybe I'll participate.
Speaker 1:Maybe we should pay attention to social media, maybe.
Speaker 2:And then also, my favorite time of the year is here at the Masters. Oh, yes, in Augusta. Yes, I'm a big PGA fan, although live golf has kind of ruined everything, but it's just not the same anymore, and most of my favorite golfers went where they were getting paid 10 times more yeah, so whatever. But those golfers do come back for the Masters. So my favorite, like John Rom, will be participating, so I'll get to watch him play. So another good reason I have Friday off. Oh yeah, so yeah, participating, so I'll get to watch him play. So another good reason I have friday off um, oh yeah, so yeah.
Speaker 2:And then one other thing I wanted to bring up was, uh, our buddy, uh, at gen x watch on facebook. He uh posted earlier today that his book is. He has physical book out for sale right now for $17. And he also wanted to make it affordable for everyone. So he has an e-book right now for $4.99 for a limited time. And again, the name of the book is Hearts of Glass, and we have also. I shared this post on our Facebook page.
Speaker 2:It's very good. I read it. I still have not, but, in all fairness to me, I haven't read a book in like since high school, because I hate reading.
Speaker 1:I love reading.
Speaker 2:Well, I would love to be a reader, but my brain doesn't work that way. I think I don't know what I have.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to self-diagnose, but we're going to have him on too, because he wants to hang with us. A I have to figure out how to record and edit Zoom, which I do not know. And and B I have a lot of shit going on right now, so we have to work through that.
Speaker 2:Yep, yep, but we will definitely be having him on eventually. Yes, all right. So just real quick, if you could go on and like share rate review. You can find us wherever you listen to podcasts and obviously you're listening, so you know where to find us. Follow us on all the socials at LikeWhateverPod, we are on YouTube. It is at LikeWhatever all one word and the W is capital. If you're having trouble finding it, we are on TikTok and you can send us an email at LikeWhateverPod, at gmailcom. So now we are going to get into this week's topic, which is a little sad, but it'll be interesting. We're going to fuck around and find out about the life of Val Kilmer, who we lost this week. He was only 65 years old, which is very sad.
Speaker 1:It's crazy because you know, I forget it's a TikTok going around and I forget. I forget it's a TikTok going around and I forget. I don't know what movie it's from, but they play this one speech about um, it's it's. You know, you can feel it coming and the end is coming and it's it's just we have to remember that. We have to remember that we're all getting older now and it's a little weird to be losing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this one hit hard because he wasn't that much older than us.
Speaker 1:We lost so many people in the 90s Right and then we went like however many years it's been since the 90s, where it was like boomers were dying or the youngsters were dying, like Gen X was like leveled out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the actors you were watching in your parents' movies.
Speaker 1:Yes, those were the ones who were dying off. And then now we get to this point where it's like your friends are dying off and everybody you knew, everybody's getting cancer and all these. It's just weird.
Speaker 1:Getting old is so weird it's it's, it is, it's like I don't know. You know, recently I have been thinking about you know where I'm obviously atheist uh, where you stand, like what happens when you die, because I was sitting thinking the other day like, like does the late just go? Like what happened? Are you conscious through it all? And then you just like I wonder what happens.
Speaker 2:I do believe that you always know when you're dying like that, you've died.
Speaker 1:You do.
Speaker 2:Because I think, isn't it true, when you get decapitated, you're still alive.
Speaker 1:It's like 10 seconds, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So you would think you'd at least still be alive that long once your heart stops.
Speaker 1:I don't know, it's just like a weird. I guess I never really had thought about it until the Grim Reaper was looming.
Speaker 2:And I used to think because I'm not religious at all, I just kind of figured I don't really care what they do with my body when I die and my mom's donating her body to science, and I was like oh, maybe I'll do that.
Speaker 1:That's a good idea.
Speaker 2:But then I was kind of like I don't believe in um well, religion is basically as it is here, but I do believe in energy yeah and I do believe that everything is interconnected and I kind of think I do want to go back to the earth, um, so I don't know what that looks like, though it's just a way. It's just like I don't think I want to be cremated, because then my cells don't go back, or like I don't go back into the earth.
Speaker 1:It's just ash. I'm donating myself. Well, somebody is going to be donating me to the body farm. Yeah, Okay. A, so you can? You know, then I can help people solve crimes, which obviously I have always wanted to do.
Speaker 2:Yes and B, it's not a burden on your family because nobody has to bury you, nobody has to pay for a funeral, nobody has to buy. Yeah, that makes very good sense for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like I throw you in a field somewhere and let you decay, and yeah I'd really love to just be buried in my backyard, but that's not legal, so no and they probably come after somebody wanting to know why my dead body's in the backyard maybe I mean, I definitely don't want to be in a casket, I don't think I want to be cremated I don't know.
Speaker 1:I always wanted to be cremated, but then I started thinking about it and I was like, well, I wouldn't mind, you know if I'm gonna be useful, because nobody's gonna be able to use my organs that's a great idea for you, I have fucked them all up, so um, but like body farm, that is like you're helping to solve crimes.
Speaker 2:That's kind of neat. Yeah, maybe if my murder addiction continues to grow, I'll decide to go that route as well. But no, I really do Like I would love to. Ultimately, if I could do something and if this is a thing I'll have to figure it out but I would like to be buried in a hole and have a tree planted on top.
Speaker 1:They actually do.
Speaker 2:They have green burials now okay, yeah, where you're not in a box.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know that if you can do it in delaware yet, but I do know that they do have green burials now where you can um I don't need to be buried in delaware.
Speaker 2:All right, I just want to be.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm going to be dead because you cannot die before me. I won't, I promise. It's against the law I promise I won't.
Speaker 2:Can't take it. I know you can't, no, and I promise I won't.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'll probably. You heard all that, everybody heard that. So if she dies before me, I won't. I'm coming for her anyway, all right.
Speaker 2:so um val kilmer, uh, the actor who played the infamous ice man in top gun and took on the role of the caped crusader batman forever, died in los angeles on april 1st. The 65 year old's cause of death was pneumonia. According to his daughter, mer Kilmer, the illness followed the actor's 2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required a trachostomy, yes, chemotherapy and radiation before going into remission, and that was really sad because that had a big effect on him.
Speaker 1:I imagine that it does.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and through reading this I found he was a very private person and he did come back and act in the maverick top gun maverick. So I wonder if he would have liked to have acted more but couldn't if it got cut short that's another thing like I wonder about myself.
Speaker 1:Like if I were to be given the cancer diagnosis, I'm not sure I would go through all that.
Speaker 2:Yeah now, yeah, I mean, that's something you can't answer until you're in that situation, but I'm not sure I would go through all that. Yeah, now, yeah, I mean, that's something you can't answer until you're in that situation, but I would understand that and some people do that it's usually older people. Well, I'm tired. I know I've had enough. I know, and you know, I'll try to talk you into it if that time comes, all right. So if wait, not if, if Not if, I've lived a magical life, kilmer said in a 2021 documentary. I've captured quite a bit of it. The versatile actor led a storied career, first gaining recognition for his performance in 1986's Top Gun and skyrocketing to fame for his portrayal of rock musician Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie the Doors.
Speaker 1:I can't believe that was 91. Isn't?
Speaker 2:that crazy. That's the year I graduated high school. That's what I mean.
Speaker 2:These people are like our age, because he was probably in his early 20s when he did that and I I just can't believe it was that long ago that that movie came out yeah, I guess he was probably in his later 20s, but anyway, um, after playing the title role of batman forever in 1995, a role that failed to impress even kilmer, the los angeles native, appeared in a string of less successful movies before making a comeback with MacGruber in 2010. He took a break from acting following his cancer diagnosis but later returned to the screen in 2017's Song to Song. Kilmer's appearance in his final film in 2022, reprising his famed role as Iceman in Top Gun Maverick. Have you ever heard of Song to Song? I have not.
Speaker 1:I have not either.
Speaker 2:Did you see the Doors?
Speaker 1:I'm going to say no, yes, I did see that one and I saw the Batman, but I don't remember. I should have watched it over the weekend to refresh myself. I know I've seen every Batman, so I do know I've seen that, but I don't remember it at all.
Speaker 2:I know I meant to watch his movies this weekend too, but work and work's been nuts the past two weeks, so when I'm home my brain is just it's mostly Candy Crush and murder documentaries.
Speaker 1:I've been watching the Big Bang.
Speaker 2:Theory. That's all I can handle, me too. So who was Val Kilmer? Actor Val Kilmer rose to fame in the 1980s with a role in Top Gun and was later known for portraying Rockstar. I already said that the Los Angeles native was 17 when he became the youngest person to be accepted into Juilliard's drama program. At the time, his first major role was as navy pilot, tom iceman kazansky, opposite tom cruise and top gun. Have you seen top gun?
Speaker 2:I have not, and I know everybody really okay look I don't have a problem with it hop off my nuts I've never seen titanic, so I don't like tom cruise I don't like tom cruise either. Yeah yeah yeah, I did see Top Gun a lot. I mean it was VHS when we were kids so it was one of the ones we had on tape. So I've seen it 5,000 times. So I guess you didn't see Maverick either.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Okay, I actually was pleasantly surprised with Maverick. I didn't want to watch it, but my husband's a big Tom not Tom Cruise, but Top Gun fan, right. So we watched it and I was. It wasn't bad, all right. So after his breakthrough in the Doors, his career bounced from the Western Tombstone to crime thrillers like Heat and the dramas the Ghost and the Darkness and the Salton Sea. Have you heard of any of those besides?
Speaker 1:Tombstone.
Speaker 2:Nope, you know Tombstone, though. Of those besides Tombstone, nope, you know Tombstone, though I do know Tombstone. Okay good, that is an excellent movie and that's the one I really want to try to rewatch this weekend, but it didn't happen. Kilmer was married to fellow actor Joanne Whaley for several years before divorcing. In 2014,. He was diagnosed with throat cancer. His treatment was successful, though his voice was permanently damaged from surgery. Kilmer died at age 65 in April 2025.
Speaker 2:So some quick facts, because we like our little Quick facts. They are quick facts. This time they're not really fun facts. So his full name is Val Edward Kilmer. He was born December 31st 1959. So I guess he's 14 years older than me, so a little bit older. He's not a Gen X. He was born in Los Angeles, california. He was married to Joanne Whaley from 1988 to 1996. He has two children, named Mercedes and Jack, and his astrological sign is Capricorn. Ooh, that's fancy, I know His early life.
Speaker 2:Val Edward Kilmer was born on December 31, 1959 in Los Angeles, the son of an aerospace equipment distributor Wow yeah and a real estate developer. Kilmer's parents divorced when he was a child. Tragedy struck years later when his younger brother, wesley, drowned after having an epileptic seizure. Oh geez, I know the 15 year old died while on the way to the hospital. His brother his brother's death later informed Kilmer's performance in the 2002 movie the Salton Sea. I feel like I need to watch that one now. He began acting while at Chatsworth High School. His classmates were there, included the now notorious Kevin Spacey and Mayor Winningham, who also became famous actors. Wait, can I ask a question? So?
Speaker 1:what are we supposed to do about kevin spacey, because I really like kevin spacey's? Movies, but I understand now that he is a despicable human being however, seven is one of, I know, my favorite movies of all time. And his performance particularly, is just outstanding.
Speaker 2:He is an amazing actor. You can't take that away from him. But I feel like one of my favorite stupid comedy movies is Get Him to the Greek and between Diddy and Brand. I mean that movie's done.
Speaker 1:I can't ever watch it again.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've seen it a hundred times so I could say it verbatim I hate and Brand.
Speaker 1:I mean that movie's done. I can't ever watch it again.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've seen it a hundred times, so I could say it verbatim I hate Russell Brand, I hate him. Yeah, I'm not a fan, but that movie is fucking funny, yeah. So to me it's up to you. I mean, you don't tell anybody what to do, you navigate that your way. I just don't know if I would be able to watch things now, like how am I going to laugh at you, right, or I don't know.
Speaker 1:I've heard one way, where it was you can hate the. I guess hate the player, not the game. But I have heard like you can enjoy the art but just like dislike the person.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I mean this all started for me as a struggle with R Kelly.
Speaker 2:Yeah because Ignition is was my jam. I mean I will go straight up high school dance on you with that song. But now I don't feel like I can listen to it anymore. I just can't enjoy it because I'm like, yeah, I don't know, yeah, I mean, but I don't want to say it sucks, because I'm glad people are finally feeling like they have a voice and they can stand up to even the rich and famous. Yep, um, so uh. Kilmer later attended the hollywood professional school and the jilly guard school of new york city, where the 17 year old was the youngest student to be accepted to the drama division. At the time he became a method actor. Uh, I saw some actor method actor got in trouble recently and I don't think I'm going to remember his name.
Speaker 1:That's crazy, that method actor I know, heath Ledger, was also a method actor.
Speaker 2:I think they go in. I mean what he did yeah, but I think a lot of people I have seen a lot of actors, both male and female say it kind of took them a while to get over being that character.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would like to digress one more second. Yes, I know we're talking about no, please, val kilmer, and but I'm sorry, but, um, heath ledger, I don't care who you are, he is the best joker yeah so, behind jack nick and um, how was it caesar romero that played on the tv show?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, yeah, I think. Uh, I think you're in the majority there with heath ledger it was just fucking phenomenal yeah, I think a lot of people 10 things I hate about you oh my god, I don't even that silly movie he did the the spoof of. Was it romeo and juliet? No, that's what 10 things I hate about you.
Speaker 1:It's the taming of. Was it Romeo and Juliet? No, that's what it. Ten Things I Hate About you it's the taming of the shrew. Oh okay, it's the taming of the shrew. Okay, almost.
Speaker 2:I do remember that I was thinking. I never saw that, but I do remember that.
Speaker 1:It's not like Romeo and Juliet, where it's word for word, but it is done in iambic pentameter and it is it mimic, it is it mimics, it is the taming of the shark. Gotcha, Gotcha. Okay, cool. I love that fucking movie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's see. Kilmer began his professional career in the New York theater scene. Oh, I forgot to tell my story. The method actor. Recently he attended a grieving parents support group.
Speaker 2:Oh boy Because he was going to be playing a grieving parent. But I think he played along like he was a grieving parent and then people found out he was there just to study. Yeah, not a good look. Luckily I can't remember his name so I can't call him out, but you can Google it if you like. All right, so professional career in the new york theater scene. He had several roles in the early 1980s, including the drama the slab boys with fellow cast members sean penn and kevin bacon.
Speaker 2:Uh, come 1984, kilmer made his debut uh, film debut in the spy spoof top secret. I have seen that. I do remember that movie. I can actually that's back when, um well, not in 84, but not too many years later I was working in a couple of video stores and I can still remember what that movie VHS tapes cover look like A string of supporting parts, including as the roommate in Real Genius, which was a movie I loved when I was a kid.
Speaker 2:That movie came out in 1985. But his breakout was right around the corner. Another supporting role materialized in the form of Navy pilot Tom Iceman Kaczynski in Top Gun in 1986. Initially Kilmer wasn't interested in the Tom Cruise vehicle. I get that. Me too. I didn't want the part. I didn't care about the film. The story didn't interest me. Kilmer later wrote in his memoir. But the rising star was convinced when director Tony Scott promised Iceman's role would develop from the original script. Top Gun ultimately became the top grossing movie in 1986, earning nearly $177 million at the box office. That's a lot of money back then. That is a lot of money.
Speaker 2:So he portrayed Jim Morrison in the Doors in 1991, and that really launched his career in the Doors in 1991, and that really launched his career. Now a familiar face. Kilmer received his true breakout role in 1991 as rock icon Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's the Doors. The film allowed the actor to show off another talent, as his own singing voice was recorded for the soundtrack. I did not know that, I did not either. I bet that made it extra sad for him when he lost his voice. Yeah, yeah, uh. Tombstone, true romance and batman forever. Kilmer followed this success by portraying another american, other american legends in two of his next movies gunslinger doc. Holiday in tombstone in 1993 and the spirit of elvis presley in true romance in 1993 I did not know he was in true.
Speaker 1:Um, okay, here's the thing. I would move heaven and earth for gary oldman, yeah he is in true romance and um, there is not a gary oldman movie that I will not see, and I'm sorry. I don't care if he murdered 37 000 people, I would still that's how I feel about george clooney and so true, yeah, yeah, he's got a great part in true, I love true romance.
Speaker 2:I am definitely gonna go back and watch that one. Um, if Feast of the Spirit of Elvis Presley it wasn't that it's in Vegas, right? Mm-hmm, yeah, that must have been, maybe. Yeah, yeah, it was during this period in his career that Kilmer earned a reputation for being difficult to work with. The actor, notably clashed with Michael Apted while working on Thunderheart in 1992, and with Joel Schumacher during the filming of Batman Forever in 1995. Kilmer's turn as Bruce Wayne was notably poor, which the actor blamed his character's iconic outfit.
Speaker 2:It was a struggle for me to get a performance past the suit and it was frustrating until I realized that my role in the film was just to show up and stand where I was told to. Kilmer shared in a 2021 documentary about his life and career. After refusing to repeat the role, kilmer broke his Batman contract and went on to other projects. He really isn't. I don't know if I've seen that one, but he's not a memorable Batman because if you told me to list who's been Batman, I don't think if I've seen that one, but he's not a memorable batman because if you told me to list who's been batman, I don't think he would pop up in my head I think that is the one where the suit had nipples.
Speaker 1:Maybe it's the one with two face and the riddler, and jim carrey is the riddler, um and I. That would be a cool kidman maybe was in it, maybe um yes I think you're right.
Speaker 2:I think I did see a picture and there was a robin.
Speaker 1:No, he doesn't have nipples in this picture, but, um, it was he robin, was it? It's a shame too, because, um, from I don't remember it because I haven't watched it in like it doesn't sound very memorable. No, but it seems to me that Jim Carrey would make a great Riddler.
Speaker 2:He would, but I bet he's really obnoxious to work with oh.
Speaker 1:I don't know, because the other day I saw something with him and he seemed like, not Like, I feel like I I think he's a method actor also, um, from what I understand, the, um, the movie. Oh, what the fuck was that movie? Uh, you know what I'm talking about? Ace ventura, no, the one where he plays the cable guy which is my favorite, the one where he played Andy Kaufman, man on the Moon.
Speaker 1:He apparently was Andy Kaufman to the point where Andy Kaufman's parents he spent a significant amount of time trying to get his. It's a very good movie I don't know that.
Speaker 2:I've seen it. Is it a serious movie? I guess, yeah, I don't think I've ever seen that I like, I like jim carrey um, you know what? It's not that I don't like jim carrey, I don't like ace ventura and dumb and dumbers all right. Yeah, I don't like all those stupid ass movies that he made, although the Cable Guy yes.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a dark comedy, yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's got Matthew Broderick in it who I love too, but that movie is fucking funny.
Speaker 1:That and you know the Grinch. I enjoy him as the Grinch.
Speaker 2:See, I don't like the Grinch as a whole. No, him as the Grinch. See, I don't like the Grinch as a whole. No, just not Like I watch it the original at Christmas time. That Grinch with Jim Carrey is one of Cailin's favorite Christmas movies.
Speaker 1:She has the weirdest face in Christmas movies.
Speaker 2:It was my niece's favorite she loves that one and she loves Polar Express, which, even though it's Tom Hanks that one kind of creeps me out.
Speaker 1:It's like AI Right. Like early AI and it just kind of creeps me out. It's called Uncanny Valley. It's what it's called. Okay, and it's too close to being real but not, Not cartoony. Yeah, it's like it's there's a there, it's called Uncanny Valley, where there's like a, like a point where it's not cartoony enough, but not real enough yeah cartoony enough, but not real enough.
Speaker 2:So it's like a it's that it freaks people out and there's a reason for it.
Speaker 1:Yes, um, I did read, just to educate everyone, and I'm probably doing this all wrong, so I'm probably lying straight up to you, I probably just imagined it right, but it's because of way back when there were other humanoids around. They kind of look like us but not look like us. So there was enough of a difference then and obviously homo sapiens cleaned out the rest of the of the herd so um.
Speaker 2:That's why that actually makes a lot of sense and then so back to jim carrey.
Speaker 1:Um, that was your fun fact of the day, even though it might not be true. That was your fun, maybe fact Tell all your friends. Yes, it's definitely called Uncanny Valley. I do know, that? What was the one where he was in the bubble?
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:Whatever that one was was good. The Truman Show the Truman Show. The thing about Jim Carrey was he made a promise to his dad that he was going to make a million dollars by a certain amount of time, and he wrote a check to his dad for a million dollars. Oh so he took every single solitary role that came, no matter what, whether he liked it or not. Plus, I mean in Living Color Fire Marshall Bill Abira Are you kidding?
Speaker 2:me.
Speaker 1:DeMilo, I mean any you know it's funny.
Speaker 2:You said that because I thought earlier today we need to do an episode on Living Color, because I wanted to be a fly girl because of Jennifer Lopez. I want to do do.
Speaker 1:I think we should start a secondary podcast and do a watch. I don't know if anybody's done like a a rewatch of you know how they have like the podcast with the rewatch of buffy or a rewatch of in living color. I don't think anybody has done one.
Speaker 2:Well, now you told everybody hey, that's trademark, poor man's, don't steal her idea, god damn it, we're gonna put that on our patreon yeah, whatever that means, yeah all right anyway.
Speaker 2:Um, that's a pay to play.
Speaker 2:Uh. Following batman forever. Kilmer signed on for the crime thriller heat. I do feel like I remember that there was a movie called Heat. I don't think I watched it. That was 1995, along with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Yeah, that is starting to ring a bell now. In 1996, he co-starred with Michael Douglas in the Ghost and the Darkness. I do love Michael Douglas, yes, so I might have to look that one up too.
Speaker 2:During the late 1990s, kilmer delivered a string of less than successful performances, including the movies the Saint in 1997, at First Sight in 1999, and Joe the King in 1999. After lending his booming voice to the role of Moses in the animated movie the Prince of Egypt in 1998, he returned to form as a tormented drug addict in the Salton Sea in 2002. Yeah, again, not one I've heard of. Kilmer drew upon his younger brother's untimely death decades earlier to portray his character, danny parker, who is haunted by witnessing his wife's murder. No, sounds like it might be good. Yeah, uh. In 2004, kilmer portrayed philip the second of macedon in alexander. Uh, appearing alongside angelina Jolie and Colin Farrell. Two years later, he played FBI agent Paul Prizewara. I don't know why that name has to be so difficult. Why do they do that? I know, yeah, just making Paul Jones. Yeah, who cares? In the film Deja Vu starring Denzel. I do love me some, denzel, I know you do, I do love me some Denzel, I know you do.
Speaker 2:Kilmer went on to earn notable roles in Conspiracy in 2008, Double Identity in 2009, and the Traveler in 2010, while voicing the supercar Kit in a reboot of the hit 1980 series Knight Rider. I don't think I realized he was the voice. I don't think I realized that they did a reboot of Knight Rider. I did know.
Speaker 1:You do know Danzel Washington has a house in Bethany, right, I do. I don't know where it is. I probably could find out. Don't tell me. If you do, no stalking Danzel, I don't need to get arrested.
Speaker 2:Kilmer continued contributing to films across a range of genres, including the farcical comedy MacGruber in 2010, the horror flick Twixt in 2011, and the Disney animated feature Planes in 2013. He also starred as Mark Twain in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in 2014, which I think that sounds really good. I haven't seen that, but I think he'd be a good Mark Twain. Before launching a one-man stage show about the famed writer and humorist. Following a cancer-induced hiatus from the screen, kilmer surfaced in the romantic drama Song to Song and the suspenseful the Snowman in 2017. Drama Song to Song and the suspenseful the Snowman in 2017. His illness prompted a trachostomy that permanently altered his speaking ability, so both parts were small For the Snowman. His voice was dubbed, which is a damn shame. His final role as a return to the character that first brought Kilmer to the public's attention Iceman Tom Kaczynski. The actor briefly reprised the role alongside Tom Cruise's Maverick for the massively successful sequel Top Gun Maverick In 2022, blockbuster made nearly one of the 2022.
Speaker 2:I was like wait, blockbuster isn't around, all right the 2022 blockbuster made nearly 1.5 billion in tickets ticket sales worldwide and was credited with saving movie theaters in the wake of covid19 pandemic.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's nice of them yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:So now we get to the juicy stuff, because I love celebrity relationships. She loves to spill the tea.
Speaker 1:I do.
Speaker 2:My poor husband knows everybody who's married to, who, who's dating, who, who's broke up, and he, finally, has started listening to me, so I'll stop telling him. So when I go to say something, he can tell me back and I'll be like oh okay, I already told you. So yeah, so this is the sweet spot for me. Um so, throughout his prolific career in hollywood, the actor dated few a-listers, including share I remember, share, I mean not just the human being share, but I remember.
Speaker 2:I mean it's hard to not remember share, but um, I remember and they stayed friends their whole life, which I will get to later okay I'll wait no, uh, cindy crawford and angelina jolie boo, I didn't know, we hated her. Oh, I really hate her. Oh, because it's brad pitt and jennifer aniston oh and I was reading something the other day about like his split from jennifer aniston. Even though he had cheated on her, it was amicable and they've remained friends and all that and then his like nightmare divorce from angelina jolie which there are two sides to every story and and they have 37 kids.
Speaker 2:They do, and I don't know if whose side it is true, although I feel like Brad Pitt says, because I feel like she talk, talk, talks too much to not be trying to prove a point. But whatever, all right, it could be because Brad Pitt's cute too, I don't know. I suppose, most notably, he was married to actress joanne whaley for nearly a decade. The couple welcomed two children before they split in 1995. Years later, kilmer told the guardian in a may 2005 interview that he'd recommend marriage. It's a lot of security and comfort. It's naturally how we are. We pair up as species. Would I get married again? Sure, he explained, although he never did. Fast forward to 2020, kilmer revealed in his memoir I'm your Huckleberry, a memoir that he had not had a girlfriend in 20 years. Smart man.
Speaker 1:Very.
Speaker 2:Still, he admired women for different reasons. I've always found women infinitely more interesting than men. True that perhaps that's why we've always gotten along. We are big oafy elephants and they are butterflies not all of us.
Speaker 2:My friend used to call me a butterfly with I forget, because I'm generally nice generally until you piss me off, yes, and then I'm not nice. Um. Shit, I can't remember. Maybe it'll come to me, maybe not. Um. Legendary singer and actress, share might be better known for her marriages to Sonny Bono and Greg Allman, but she also dated Kilmer. After they met at a birthday party in the early 80s, we became friends because we laughed at the same things constantly. He would sleep over and it was just a friendship at first. She told People in August 2021.
Speaker 1:I love me some Cher yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah and I love how she, Cher, yeah, yeah and she. I love how she does not give a fuck, Not even a little Nope. Eventually, Kilmer and Cher's connection turned romantic, which evolved into artistic admiration. It went from madly in love and laughing hysterically to respecting each other's ability. She said the couple dated for a few years before splitting. We had unbelievable times and then put up with some times when they weren't that way because we were both alpha males. She continued, alluding to why they broke up. We were both individuals and neither of us was going to give that up. Afterward, Kilmer and Cher stayed friends.
Speaker 2:In his memoir, the actor wrote about his 2015 throat cancer diagnosis and the support she gave him through the illness. Kilmer stayed in Cher's guest home while his health was in decline. One night I suddenly awoke vomiting blood that covered the bed like a scene out of the Godfather. I prayed immediately, then called 911, then alerted my hostess. He said Cher stepped in and stepped up. More recently, Cher reflected on their relationship during a November 2024 interview with the Howard Stern Show. Sometimes you're only meant to stay with someone so long. And Val was really young. She said Cher likes them really young. Yes, she does. She gets older, but her boyfriends get younger.
Speaker 1:You know what? I'm beginning to think? That she sucks the blood out of them or something, because she does not age, so she is.
Speaker 2:You're right yeah. Maybe she's a vampire she might be, and all her little boyfriends are now vampires obviously not val kilmer too soon. That's our dark humor coming out. You have to forgive us, whatever. Um in the 1980s kilmer dated fellow actress ellen barkin, who is another one of my favorites, yeah I like her oh my god, she's awesome. Uh, who has starred in movies like switch, fear and loathing in las vegas and oceans 13, which I just watched a few weekends ago.
Speaker 2:I love those. I do too, and she's so good in oceans. 13 yeah when she gets seduced by, uh, matt damon. Oh my god, it's so funny yeah um.
Speaker 2:In his memoir, kilmer described barkin, who was born in the bronx, new york, as having the best smile in all five boroughs. The actors were together only briefly, but kilmer recounted some of his favorite features of her decades later. I remember, remember her wit, her sultry eyes, but mostly her laugh and her hair, he said. Kilmer recalled window shopping on Rodeo Drive by day and barbecuing at night, and revealed that Barkin was one of the enchantresses who got away, no doubt due to my unmanageable preoccupations, my neglect. Yeah, she does have sultry eyes, like that's the perfect way to say it.
Speaker 2:In a November 2006 interview with Elle, he shared that out of his previous partners, if he were arrested he'd pick Cher as his character witness. Meanwhile, kilmer quipped that he would most fear Barkin to testify against him. Oh snap, she's got the dirt. Meanwhile, kilmer quipped that he would most fear Barkin to testify against him. Oh snap, she's got the dirt. Kilmer met English actress Joanne Whaley in 1987 while they were filming the movie Willow. They married in 1988 and had two kids Mercedes was born in 1991 and Jack was born in 1995. Shortly after welcoming Jack, the couple separated and Whaley filed for divorce from Kilmer, citing irreconcilable differences, which is my least favorite reason that celebrity couples give because I want the dirt.
Speaker 2:In 2017, Whaley, Mercedes and Jack joined Kilmer for an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, in which he disclosed his throat cancer. Mercedes followed her parents into acting, starring as Kilmer's on-screen daughter in the 2020 crime thriller film Pay Dirt. Do you know that one? No, yeah, me neither. Similarly, Jack has landed roles in several movies, including Palo Alto, Lords of Chaos and the Pretenders no, no and no, no, Maybe the Pretenders, but no, I don't think it's the same Pretenders. I don't think so.
Speaker 2:Supermodel Cindy Crawford first crossed paths with Kilmer at the premiere of Batman Forever in 1995. So she saw that movie at the premiere and still dated him At the time. He had recently separated from Whaley and she was divorced from Richard Gere. Kilmer and Crawford dated for two years, splitting in 1997. The actor mentioned Crawford in his memoir, expressing his gratitude for their relationship. Oh God, I love Cindy and I just kept loving her. I thought I could have died from her love, because its delight was simply too much to bear. I would die of happiness, he wrote. And you know part of me. I'm reading through this. I'm like that's so kind that he went through, like all his old girlfriends and said all these nice things, but some of it's kind of cheesy too.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean yeah, but it's still very nice, probably what happens when you're dying. True, that You're going to remember the good stuff and try to put out the bad.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Some people have been told that they like to put things in tiny boxes and push them away.
Speaker 2:I wonder who that was. I wonder who that was. Yeah, but it is very nice of him to not go back and say anything bad about them and point out what he loves so much about them. I thought that was very sweet. I had fun writing this part. In a May 2005 interview with the Guardian, kilmer described her as very nice and a smart girl with a great sense of humor. He added she's a fantastic cook too. Always carried recipes around when she traveled. Kilmer began dating actress Daryl Hannah.
Speaker 1:What the hell happened. Where is Daryl Hannah? I don't know. She kind of just like dropped off the face of the earth, didn't she?
Speaker 2:Yeah, like a really long time ago yeah. Maybe she's one of those actors that left Hollywood and moved to the Midwest, maybe I hope she didn't get eaten at one of the celebrity parties.
Speaker 1:Maybe that's what happened to her Maybe. She got eaten.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they were like Daryl, come over to our party.
Speaker 1:They splashed water on her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and then ate her All right. So he dated Daryl Hannah after they were co-stars in In God we Trust in 2001. Never heard of it. I'm really sorry if, like Val Kilmer, fans are listening Like how have you never heard of any of these movies?
Speaker 1:But I'm not. I'm just not a movie buff, no.
Speaker 2:Like, obviously I watched a lot as a kid because we had a VCR and that's what you did. Yes, but yeah, now even my husband, he'll try to pick out a movie, and I'm just like I'd rather play on my phone and just kind of have my numbing TV on. I just I can't.
Speaker 1:I don't know why I can binge watch a show for 14 hours straight yes, if you say, let's watch a movie, I'm like, oh, I can't pay attention.
Speaker 2:I know I don't know what it is. Yeah, for real, and really I will end that series and be like I basically just watched a 14 hour movie, but easy peasy, no problem.
Speaker 1:And now I can't imagine going to a movie theater and sitting in a movie theater and watching something I mean nowadays. I mean, for fuck's sake, I live in an efficiency apartment and my TV is like half the room. So I'm like, right, I'm in the movies with it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the last one I went to see was Barbie, but I wanted to see that one with other people, I took a friend's daughter to see Labyrinth the redo.
Speaker 1:I was going to say, wow, that was a really long time ago. It was like last year.
Speaker 2:And which of your friends, when you were five, had a daughter?
Speaker 1:Hey, I like older people.
Speaker 2:Alright. They broke up the following year and she later married Neilil young in 2018. Hold up all right. Yes, you, you know what I forgot, because I actually got the script done early and that's why I don't do scripts early, because I forgot what was in here and I meant to bring that up, like make a point of that, when it came up did you know that she married neil young?
Speaker 1:no, she was married to neil young and just in 2018?
Speaker 2:that was only seven years ago. What?
Speaker 1:yeah, so she's. She didn't get eaten seven years ago right so it's been since seven years ago that she has been eaten, poor neil young. Wow, I did uh-huh yeah, look at that you learn something new every day yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:In his memoir, kilmer recalled the time they spent together in new mexico and wrote that his breakup from hannah was particularly painful. Lord knows I've suffered heartache, but daryl was by far the most painful of all, he wrote, jokingly, adding ne adding. Neil Young, I always loved you, but I'm afraid I hate you now. Huh.
Speaker 2:I just I'm, I'm, so I guess she's really the one that got away. I guess so. Actress Angelina Jolie worked with Val Kilmer on the 2004 film Alexander, in which they played the parents of Alexander the Great. I couldn't wait to kiss Angie, buy her a Gulfstream jet and have a V and J painted in rainbow glory on the tail, kilmer wrote in his memoir. He also told director Oliver Stone that he'd only take the part if he and Jolie could have flashbacks to falling hard for each other and storming the castle with passion before turning against each other. He wanted to make out with her. Kilmer described Jolie as perhaps the most soulful and serious of the women he dated. He continued when people ask what she's like, I say she's like other women and other superstars, just more.
Speaker 1:I can see how she's just more of everything, yeah.
Speaker 2:So his cancer In January 2009. Let's bring the room down.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no more fun.
Speaker 2:In January 2015,. Kilmer was hospitalized after having emergency surgery performed on his throat. In April 2017, he finally confirmed the longstanding rumors that he was battling throat cancer. The lifelong Christian scientist wasn't eager for medical intervention in keeping with his religious faith, but decided to undergo treatment anyway on account of his children. He had a trachos Fucking word, I'm not even going to say it again that permanently damaged his vocal cords, as well as radiation and chemotherapy. Ultimately, the cancer went into remission.
Speaker 2:Late in 2017, the actor opened up about how things had changed since his cancer diagnosis. I was too serious, he told Hollywood Reporter, Recounting his days as an A-lister. I'd get upset when things like Oscars and recognition failed to come my way. Too serious, he told Hollywood Reporter, recounting his days as an A-lister. I'd get upset when things like Oscars and recognition failed to come my way. Kilmer shared more details about his experiences as a cancer patient in his 2020 memoir I'm your Huckleberry, revealing his ex-girlfriend Cher had helped him get through some of the toughest times. The movie star died of pneumonia on april 1st 2025 at age 65 in his hometown. And that's my story on val kilmer. So, although I am not a val kilmer super fan, there are a lot of his movies that I haven't seen. Um. The ones I have seen of his are just iconic, um, and I love them and I just, yeah, this one just kind of sucked some do you know.
Speaker 2:Like some of them you get hit by harder um yeah, and you don't even really expect it like, even when I heard it I was like oh, but as the day progressed, I was like oh it kind of sucks.
Speaker 1:I find, um, of course, you know you, you know this, but I don't know if everybody else. Anthony bourdain is the one that hit me the hardest because a, I love anthony bourdain, I mean, I mean, he lived, yeah, the best life he did and he was, you know, I identified with him, obviously because he was a chef and um, I'm not, but he didn't, he wasn't like chefy. I put that in air quotes because you didn't see that he wasn't chefy, he was a cook yeah yeah, yeah, he was a cook yeah, um, because he loved what he did.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:I mean, it was in his bones and he always said he was terrible at it. But so I think my issue with him particularly, like you know, robin Williams was difficult and Prince was hard and you know hard yeah. But I'm telling, the one that sticks with me is anthony bourdain, and you know there have been other um suicides.
Speaker 1:You know, of course, kurt cobain, and you know but he was kind of that classic god, I did not see that one coming and that's my point, your best life traveling the world, meeting people, just loving, like he had such a quit smoking or life he had gone on depression medic, he had gone on medication, he had done everything to prolong his life exactly he had, he had he had a kid and he was married and he was absolutely at the top of his life and here's the thing about that.
Speaker 1:And as someone who struggles every single solitary day with depression, sometimes worse than others, and I am medicated and he was medicated. So at what point and I talk to my therapist about this all the time At what point do you just say I'm done? There has to be, because you hear of these people who have gone 50 years and then they commit suicide at 50, 60 years old and you have to think at some point.
Speaker 2:There's a point where you're just like Well, it always stuck with me, our friend that committed suicide when we were younger. The part that I remember most about that story was he came home from work, he ate his lunch, he took the dog out, fed the dog and then he went in the bedroom the last few days of his life.
Speaker 1:I did um that time with him and it was. He was great, he was having the time of his life he had. He was just. Everything was firing on all cylinders and actually my therapist said, and it may, and that's the day it like hit me. I was like, oh wow, is I? I said you know they just and you hear this about everybody that has. I think you're not supposed to say committed suicide anymore, it's completed suicide oh yeah, I have not heard that, yeah, um so everyone it's like, oh, we didn't see it coming.
Speaker 1:He had been so happy and she had been so happy. The last few days were just great. And I said that to my therapist and she was like, because they know it's over and I was like oh, so they want you to remember them.
Speaker 1:Well, no because they know that they're, they're about to stop their suffering and that makes them happy yes, they know it's over or soon to be over. That's what she said. That's when they make their decision and then they, they. After that they're having the time because they know that they're it's gonna end. So if you ever see me acting happy like, watch out, don't let me eat shrimp mentally prepare if I'm just like yeah today is the greatest day ever.
Speaker 2:Something I would think you've been kidnapped and somebody was making you say that I'm wearing a heather suit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just so. That's the one that hit me the hardest was Anthony Bourdain, I think, and of course Prince.
Speaker 2:but yeah, prince sucked yeah, that one sucked yeah. I watched MTV all day that day, because all they did was play his music videos and his movie. I watched Purple Rain. Yeah, prince was.
Speaker 1:Yeah, principal's. Okay, cancer's a bitch. That's what my uncle died of, but he hung on for four years he did. He had stage four liver cancer when they found it and he hung on.
Speaker 2:He said fuck you, you stage four liver cancer. He lived the last. I'm going out on my term.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he did live the rest of his life and they cruised everywhere and everything but yeah. Yeah, cancer sucks, fuck cancer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, fuck cancer.
Speaker 1:It's brewing in here somewhere. You hope I know.
Speaker 2:You'll be the one person on earth who never gets cancer. I'm trying really hard I don't know the garbage I eat Cancer's like no thanks. No, We'll go find somebody that jogs and eats vegetarian this one's gonna live forever?
Speaker 1:god, I hope not. So that was good. Yeah, val kilmer. Yeah, rip val kilmer rip val kilmer bringing it back. Yeah, um. So she told you all up at the beginning, but I'm going to tell you all again because we have yet to decide how to change the ending or how to end it.
Speaker 1:We just spent. Yeah, thanks for listening. Like share rate review. Find us where you listen to podcasts. Tell a friend, follow us on all the socials. At likewhateverpod, you can send us an email and tell us why we should watch more Val Kilmer movies. Yes To likewhateverpod at gmailcom. Or don't like whatever.
Speaker 2:Whatever, bye, bye.
