It is revealed that Iceman is dying of cancer and types out most of the conversation with Maverick, summoning the strength to speak in an emotional moment. Val Kilmer's own battle with throat cancer severely impacted his ability to speak.
Val Kilmer as Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in Top Gun (1986). After being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2015, Val underwent two tracheotomies and chemo treatments. Unfortunately, he lost his voice in the process. In his 2020 memoir I'm Your Huckleberry, Val revealed the impact it has on his daily life.
Val Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in his 50s, but he was initially reluctant to seek medical attention. He eventually underwent multiple rounds of intense chemotherapy, radiation, and a tracheotomy. And though the treatment left his cancer in remission, it also took away his natural speaking voice.
Spoiler alert: Iceman dies in Top Gun: Maverick. It's an off-screen death, explained by the fact that Iceman, like actor Val Kilmer, has throat cancer.
Top Gun: Goose's Death Isn't Maverick's Fault, It's Iceman's - IMDb. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw's (Anthony Edwards) died in Top Gun, but is it Maverick's (Tom Cruise) fault that Goose died? In actuality, it was Tom "Iceman" Kazansky's (Val Kilmer) fault.
Just when Hangman thinks that the day can't get any worse, he finds out that his father died. His father, Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. And he doesn't take it well. Luckily, Sarah Kazansky and Maverick are there to help.
They reconcile towards the end of the movie when Cruise saves Kilmer's life, earning his respect. The two stars have remained friends since working on the original film in 1986.
While Kilmer was cancer-free by 2016, his tracheostomy surgery left permanently damaged his vocal cords.
Personal life. Whalley met American actor Val Kilmer while filming the movie Willow. The couple married in 1988. Whalley took a break from acting to bring up two children with Kilmer: a daughter, Mercedes, born on 29 October 1991 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a son, Jack, born on 6 June 1995.
Is Penny Benjamin in the Original "Top Gun"? Penny, played by Jennifer Connelly, is not physically in the first "Top Gun" movie, but she does exist in it, though only mentioned in passing. She is never actually seen on screen.
Ryan did not reprise her role as Carole Bradshaw in Top Gun: Maverick. The reason for her absence was explained in a conversation between Maverick and Penny Benjamin discussing Rooster.
According to showbizgalore.com, Kilmer was paid $400,000 to star in Top Gun: Maverick. On the other hand, glamourfame.com reports that Kilmer's Top Gun: Maverick salary was $2 million.
Tom Cruise
Cruise has trouble reading text and was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 7. In his early high school and acting career, he found it extremely challenging to read and when it came to acting, reading scripts was extremely difficult for him.
Researchers probed the arrow hole under Ötzi's left shoulder (bottom). The arrow destroyed the shoulder blade (top). This week, almost 10 years after the discovery of the "Ice Man," scientists say they now finally know what killed him: He was shot from behind by an arrow.
"I was diagnosed with throat cancer, which healed very quickly. This is a tracheotomy to help me breathe because the glands in my throat swelled up as well."
Film Fact: While portraying Jim Morrison in the 1991 film “The Doors”, Val Kilmer actually did all his own singing. Critics were full of praise for his very realistic portrayal and convincing singing. 4,152 people like this.
Val Kilmer, the star of movies as wide-ranging as Top Gun, Batman Forever, Heat, and The Prince of Egypt, withdrew from the public eye following a throat cancer diagnosis and two tracheotomies which left his ability to express himself vocally severely impaired. He now speaks using a voice box.
In 2014, at 54-years-old — he's just three years older than Top Gun co-star Tom Cruise — he was diagnosed with throat cancer and, as reported by the New York Times Magazine, the combination of a tracheostomy and relentless chemotherapy led to the loss of his voice.
He types out, “IT'S TIME TO LET GO” on his computer, the cursor blinking as if repeating the sentence to Maverick over and over again. It's the crucial point in the film that finally pushes Maverick past his guilt and forces him to evolve. Iceman is the only one who could get that out of him.
Williams would eventually voice the character in The Lego Batman Movie (2017). Val Kilmer and Jim Carrey became good friends during filming. They bonded over the deaths of their fathers.
Maverick is naturally in the crowd and personally pounds Iceman's wings into the top of his casket.
Sarah Kazansky is character in the feature film, Top Gun: Maverick. She is ADM Tom "Iceman" Kazansky's wife.
Jean Louisa Kelly: Sarah Kazansky.
Penny is Maverick's on-again, off-again love in Top Gun: Maverick. While in the first film he was romantically involved with Charlie, a civilian liaison at the Top Gun Fighter School, he's since moved on decades later. Now, he's linked to Penny, a divorced single mom who owns a bar near the Top Gun school.