Kurt Russell; Val Kilmer. Photo:
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty
The late Val Kilmer had a dark sense of humor when it came to gift giving.
In a January 2024 interview with GQ, Kurt Russell revealed that he and Kilmer, who died on April 1 at the age of 65, exchanged rather dark gifts after wrapping filming on their 1993 Western, Tombstone.
Speaking to GQ, Russell, 74, said that actors used to exchange gifts after wrapping filming, despite it not being a “mandatory gesture.”
“If you’re asking me if it was great working with Val Kilmer, who played Doc Holliday on Tombstone, the answer is absolutely,” Russell, who portrayed Wyatt Earp in the movie, said.
“In those days, especially when you were working with people, sometimes at the end of the show you’d get them gifts or trade gifts,” he continued. “It’s not mandatory, it’s not something that you gotta do or that they’ve gotta do.”
Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in ‘Tombstone’. Buena Vista Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
Russell revealed that he asked his driver if he could “get a hold” of Kilmer’s holster, gun, hat and chair “with his name on the back” from the movie.
“Take a picture, and then in that picture I wanted to have this thing,” the Hollywood icon explained.
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Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell in 1997. Bei/Shutterstock
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Russell went on to share that he gifted Kilmer a burial plot in Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona, a cemetery where many famous figures of the Old West were laid to rest.
“I give Val this present and he looks at me and he turns to his driver and he says, ‘Give it to me.’ Because what I had gotten Val was a plot at Boothill, what Val had gotten me was an acre of land overlooking Boothill.”
“Doc Holliday was all about death, but Wyatt’s all about life,” Russell said with a laugh. “I guess that pretty much says it all.”
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes confirmed to The New York Times that he died of pneumonia on Tuesday. He was previously diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered, the 33-year-old added.
Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in 1993’s ‘Tombstone’. Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett
Many stars have paid tribute to the late actor following the news of his death, including Josh Gad.
The Goonies star Josh Brolin shared a photo with Kilmer on Instagram with the caption, “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker.”
Stranger Things actor Matthew Modine also wrote on X, “RIP Val Kilmer. If it wasn’t for our chance encounter at the Source in 1985, I may never have been cast in FULL METAL JACKET. Thanks, Val.”
