• Actor Val Kilmer died on Tuesday in Los Angeles at age 65.
• He was known for starring alongside Tom Cruise in the hit 1986 film "Top Gun."
• Fellow celebrities and friends are paying tribute to the actor on social media.

Celebrities are paying tribute to Val Kilmer after he died at age 65 on Tuesday.

His daughter confirmed to The New York Times that pneumonia was the cause of the actor's death.

Kilmer was previously diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but recovered. However, due to a tracheostomy, his voice was permanently damaged.

He was known for his roles in 1986's "Top Gun," 1991's "The Doors," and 1995's "Batman Forever."

Following the news of Kilmer's death, friends and fellow celebrities shared their reactions on social media.

Francis Ford Coppola said Kilmer was "a joy to know"

Francis Ford Coppola worked with Kilmer on 2011's horror film "Twixt."

"Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life. He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know — I will always remember him," the filmmaker wrote on Instagram.

Cher paid tribute to Kilmer, whom she dated in the '80s

"VALUS Will miss u,U Were Funny,crazy,pain in the ass,GREAT FRIEND,kids♥U, BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness," the "Believe" singer wrote in a post on X, using her nickname for the actor.

In 2021, she told People that Kilmer and she had nicknames for each other.

"We called ourselves Sid and Ethel. Val didn't want to yell 'Cher' and I didn't want to yell 'Val,'" Cher said. "We also called ourselves Valus Maximus and Cherus Reprimandus. It was just kind of who I was in the household. Of course, he was Maximus, come on."

Michael Douglas shared a photo of himself and Kilmer from 1996's "The Ghost and the Darkness"

"RIP Val Kilmer. It was an honor working with Val on The Ghost and the Darkness nearly 30 years ago. Val will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on forever in the films and performances he so brilliantly shared with us," Michael Douglas wrote in his Instagram caption accompanying the photo.

Josh Brolin shared a heartfelt message to Kilmer

Actor Josh Brolin, who portrays Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared a heartfelt message to Kilmer on Instagram.

"See ya, pal. I'm going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There's not a lot left of those. I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts," Brolin wrote in his caption.

Michael Mann posted a throwback photo of Kilmer

"While working with Val on 'Heat' I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val's possessing and expressing character. After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news," filmmaker Michael Mann wrote in his caption.

Mann worked with Kilmer in 1995's crime drama film "Heat," which also starred Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino.

Michelle Monaghan shared a photo of herself and Kilmer, whom she worked with on "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

"A kind, curious, committed, rebellious, and radical gent. I learned from one of the greats. An artist through and through. I treasured my time with you," The "White Lotus" star wrote in her caption. "Godspeed buddy."

Josh Gad thanked Kilmer for being a part of many movies from his childhood

Josh Gad, best known for voicing Olaf in Disney's "Frozen" franchise and for playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon," shared a tribute to Kilmer on Instagram along with a photo of the "Top Gun" star.

"RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon," Gad wrote in his caption.

Matthew Modine shared an anecdote about meeting Val Kilmer in 1985

"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," Matthew Modine, who also starred in "Stranger Things," wrote on X.

Accompanying Modine's post was a video telling how his bumping into Kilmer in a restaurant on Sunset Boulevard set off a chain of events that eventually culminated in him getting cast in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket."

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash posted a photo of Kilmer from the film "Tombstone"

In the 1993 film, Kilmer plays the American outlaw Doc Holliday.

"RIP #ValKilmer," Slash wrote in his caption.

• In her first public post since her husband died, Dolly Parton thanked loved ones and fans for their support.
• Parton also referenced her hit song, "I Will Always Love You," in the post.
• She then released a new song for Carl Dean, called "If You Hadn't Been There."

Dolly Parton thanked loved ones and fans for their sympathies on Thursday in her first public statement since announcing the death of Carl Dean, her husband of 58 years.

Hours later, she released a new song in tribute to him called "If You Hadn't Been There."

Dean died on Monday at the age of 82. In an Instagram post announcing his death on March 3, Parton wrote that he would be "laid to rest in a private ceremony with immediate family attending."

On Thursday, Parton shared another statement expressing gratitude to those who had reached out to express their condolences.

"This is a love note to family, friends, and fans. Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you've sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl," Parton wrote on Instagram. "I can't reach out personally to each of you, but just know it has meant the world to me."

"He is in God's arms now, and I am okay with that. I will always love you," the post continued, referencing Parton's 1973 single that the late Whitney Houston later recorded for the "The Bodyguard" soundtrack.

Carl Dean stayed out of the public eye

Throughout their nearly six-decade marriage, Dean remained out of the public eye despite serving as the inspiration behind hits such as "Jolene" and her latest bestselling album, "Rockstar."

Award shows and stages weren't Dean's forte, but the couple did share a love of Taco Bell and Southern cooking, Parton previously told Business Insider.

Hours after sharing her "love note," she released "If You Hadn't Been There." The cover art features an old photo of the couple.

The song thanks Dean for supporting Parton's career. In her post about the song she explained that "like all great love stories, they never end. They live in memory and in song, and I dedicate this to him."

The lyrics of Dolly Parton's "If You Hadn't Been There" in full:

If you hadn't been there
Where would I be?
Without your trust
Love and belief
The up's and down's
We've always shared
And I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there

If you hadn't been there
Well, who would I be?
You always see the best in me
You're loving arms have cradled me
You held me close, and I believe

I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there
Holding my hand
Showing you care
You made me drеam
More than I dared
And I wouldn't be hеre
If you hadn't been there

Oh, you are my rock (Mm)
A soft place to land
My wings, my confidence
You understand
You're willingness
Beyond compare
No, I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there

I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there
Pushing me on
When I was scared
I found God and you (And God and you)
Oh, for your loving care
And for giving me love
With more to spare
You made me climb
And top the stairs
I wouldn't be here
I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there

I wouldn't be here
I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there
Oh I wouldn't be here
If you hadn't been there
Mmm

• Gene Hackman was found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, this week.
• The authorities have said their deaths are "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation."
• Hackman's pacemaker was last active on February 17, nine days before his body was discovered, they said.

More details are emerging about the death of Gene Hackman.

The Oscar-winning actor was found dead on February 26 at his New Mexico home alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Hackman was 95, and Arakawa was 65.

The Santa Fe Sheriff, Adan Mendoza, confirmed the news to the Santa Fe New Mexican on Wednesday evening but did not disclose a cause of death.

"All I can say is that we're in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant. I want to assure the community and neighborhood that there's no immediate danger to anyone," Mendoza said.

The New Mexico authorities later released an affidavit, also published by the Santa Fe New Mexican, that said the deaths were "suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened."

The affidavit also said Arakawa's body "showed obvious signs of death, body decomposition, bloating in her face and mummification in both hands and feet."

One of the deputies cited in the report said two maintenance workers called the authorities, and they told the deputy they hadn't heard from Hackman and Arakawa for two weeks.

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

At a news conference held on February 28, Mendoza said that an initial examination found that Hackman's pacemaker was last active on February 17, nine days before he and his wife's bodies were discovered.

The sheriff said it was "a very good assumption" Hackman died on that day, based on information from a pathologist.

According to the earlier affidavit, Hackman was found in a mudroom at the Santa Fe residence, while Arakawa was found in a bathroom near an open bottle of prescription medication "with pills scattered on the counter-top."

There were two "healthy" dogs at the property, and a third that was found dead "laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female."

The initial autopsy also found no initial signs of trauma to either body.

Hackman's daughter said her main worry was that her father suffered

Hackman is survived by his three children from his first marriage to Faye Maltese. Leslie Anne Allen, their youngest child, spoke with US Weekly about the deaths.

"I think I'm very anxious to find out what happened, and I just don't know how long they had been deceased," she told the outlet on Thursday, adding that the authorities "don't know yet either."

Allen said: "I much would have rather my dad pass peacefully, but hopefully if it was carbon monoxide poisoning [there was] no suffering with that. That's my main concern."

Per the affidavit, the fire department did not detect a carbon monoxide leak in the property.

At the news conference, the sheriff confirmed the initial examination by the medical examiner showed the couple's bodies had tested negative for carbon monoxide exposure.

"The police won't let us go in when they are still investigating," Allen said, adding that she and her siblings would "wait to find out what actually happened" before they traveled to New Mexico.

Hackman had his big break in 'Bonnie and Clyde'

Hackman played a wide range of roles over his four-decade career, making him beloved by audiences and peers alike.

His breakout part was in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" when he played the older brother of the gangster Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He became a leading man as the hard-nosed detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in 1971's "The French Connection," which earned him an Oscar.

He spent the 1970s working on movies that would become classics, such as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Conversation."

On Thursday, Francis Ford Coppola, who directed "The Conversation," posted a tribute to Hackman on Threads: "The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution."

At the end of the '70s, he played Lex Luthor in "Superman" (a role he reprised in "Superman II" and "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace).

The 1980s saw Hackman's star soar with movies such as "Hoosiers" and "Mississippi Burning" (earning him another Oscar nomination). He started the 1990s with another Oscar win, this time for 1992's Clint Eastwood-directed Western "Unforgiven." As the decade went on, he did some of his best work with "The Firm," "The Quick and the Dead," "Crimson Tide," "Get Story," and "The Birdcage."

As the 2000s came around, it seemed Hackman wasn't going to slow down in his 70s. He starred in wide-ranging projects: playing a football head coach in "The Replacements," being part of an ensemble cast in Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums," and outwitting everyone in the clever "Heist."

But Hackman had other ideas.

After starring in 2004's "Welcome to Mooseport" he abruptly retired from acting.

Hackman, who wrote the 1999 novel "Wake of the Perdido Star," focused more on his writing during this period. He wrote four more books, the last of which was the police thriller "Pursuit" in 2013.

Hackman was a Marine before he started acting

Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California. He moved frequently as a kid and by the time he started high school his family had set roots in Iowa. At 16, he enlisted in the Marines and served 4 ½ years as a field radio operator in the late 1940s. He was discharged in 1951 and, after toying with a career in media by studying journalism and television production at the University of Illinois with the help of the GI Bill, Hackman moved back to California.

Hackman's acting career began in the 1960s at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. There, he befriended a fellow aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman, and the two hit it off as they tried to navigate their careers.

The pair moved to New York City to try to make it big and soon befriended another California actor with the same goal: Robert Duvall.

Alongside off-Broadway plays, Hackman found work with small TV parts. In 1964, he got a part in the movie "Lilith," starring Warren Beatty, leading to his big break with "Bonnie and Clyde."

From then, Hackman would become an all-time great thanks to his passionate performances and ability to play gruff everyman characters, but with a charming quality whenever he flashed a smile or gave a crackling laugh.

Hackman has three children from his first marriage

In 1956, the actor married Faye Maltese, a bank clerk from New York. The couple had three children, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman. They divorced in 1986 after 30 years of marriage.

In 2000, the actor told the Irish Independent that he wasn't always present as a father. "I couldn't always be home with them when they were growing up and then, living in California, they've had my success always hanging over their heads,' Hackman said.

Sometime after Hackman and Maltese split, he started dating Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist who was 30 years his junior. They got married in 1991.

Hackman never returned to acting

Hackman's status as a legend only grew after his retirement, as one of few icons able to walk away and stay away from the business.

In one of his final interviews, in 2011, GQ asked him whether he'd ever do another movie:

"I don't know," he said. "If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people."

Correction: February 27, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the circumstances of Gene Hackman's death. The Santa Fe New Mexican cited Sheriff Adan Mendoza as saying Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found dead Wednesday afternoon, not that they died Thursday. Mendoza was said to have confirmed their deaths Thursday.

• Michelle Trachtenberg has died, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.
• The 39-year-old actor was known for roles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gossip Girl."
• She made her film debut as a child actor in 1996, playing the title role in "Harriet the Spy."

Michelle Trachtenberg has died at age 39.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told Business Insider that Trachtenberg was found dead at One Columbus Place, a luxury high-rise apartment complex near Central Park in Manhattan. Police had responded to a 911 call at about 8:01 a.m. and found Trachtenberg unconscious and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The New York Post and ABC earlier reported the news, citing police sources.

According to the authorities, the death is not being treated as suspicious. A cause of death hasn't been determined.

A representative for Trachtenberg didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The former child actor was best known for her roles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Harriet the Spy," and "Gossip Girl."

Born on October 11, 1985, Trachtenberg began her career as a child actor at age 3. She started off in commercials, with her first on-screen appearance in an ad for Wisk detergent.

After bit parts in the second season of "Law & Order" and "Clarissa Explains It All," Trachtenberg landed her first regular role as Nona F. Mecklenberg in the second season of "The Adventures of Pete & Pete," appearing on the show from 1994 to 1996. She also appeared on the soap opera "All My Children."

Trachtenberg's breakthrough came when she was cast as the title character in "Harriet the Spy," which marked her feature film debut. Her performance as the titular 11-year-old aspiring sleuth won Trachtenberg a Young Artist Award for best leading performance in a feature film.

As a young teen, Trachtenberg returned to the small screen with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," in which she played Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Trachtenberg's character was introduced in the show's fifth season and quickly became a pivotal part of the teen supernatural drama, earning her a Teen Choice Award nomination for choice TV sidekick in 2001 and maintaining a main role through the series finale in 2003. For many fans, Dawn Summers remains the role for which they know Trachtenberg best.

However, her time on the popular show was not without its difficulty.

In 2021, Trachtenberg said there had been a rule that series creator Joss Whedon wasn't allowed to be in a room alone with her. She made the claim, which Whedon later denied in a New York Magazine interview, amid reports of Whedon's alleged history of abusive on-set behavior from other former "Buffy" stars like Charisma Carpenter.

Trachtenberg remained close with several of her "Buffy" costars, including her former on-screen sister, Gellar. In January, she posted a throwback photo of herself with Gellar in honor of Woman Crush Wednesday. "Slay all day! Always loved this twinning photo of us!" she captioned the picture.

After "Buffy" concluded, Trachtenberg continued to appear on TV and in film throughout the 2000s, with recurring roles in the series "Six Feet Under," "Weeds," and "Robot Chicken" and memorable appearances in movies like "Ice Princess," "EuroTrip," and "17 Again."

In 2008, Trachtenberg landed her second career-defining role, as conniving rich girl Georgina Sparks in The CW series "Gossip Girl."

Trachtenberg's Georgina appeared in a recurring capacity through each of the series' six seasons, quickly becoming a fan-favorite as she battled for supremacy against Leighton Meester's Blair Waldorf.

The actor called Georgina, which earned her another Teen Choice Award nomination for choice TV villain in 2012, one of her favorite roles and relished playing a villain. "It's definitely a lot more fun than playing the good girl. I love the reaction you get. I never understood why some actors don't want to play villains or evil characters," she told Seventeen magazine in 2009.

In 2022 and 2023, she returned as Georgina in the second season of the "Gossip Girl" sequel series on Max. It was her last credited on-screen appearance.

Additional reporting by Natalie Musumeci.

• Chuck Woolery died on Saturday, November 23, at the age of 83.
• The legendary game show star was best known as the original host of "Wheel of Fortune."
• Woolery became a conservative commentator and Trump supporter later in his life.

Chuck Woolery, the media personality best known for hosting the game shows "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love Connection," died on Saturday at the age of 83.

Woolery's friend and podcast co-host Mark Young said in a statement on X: "It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother has just passed away. Life will not be the same without him, RIP brother."

Young, who hosted the podcast "Blunt Force Truth" with Woolery, told the Associated Press that the star had died at his home in Texas with his wife present.

Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery found early success in the music world after serving a stint in the US Navy.

In 1968, he scored a Top 40 hit with the song "Naturally Stoned" as part of a pop group called The Avant-Garde.

After failing to follow up the success as a solo artist, Woolery turned to acting in the 1970s.

However, it was through his role as the original host of the hugely popular game show "Wheel of Fortune" that he really made his name.

The NBC show, which premiered in 1975, earned Woolery a Daytime Emmy nomination. His six-year tenure on the show ended in 1981 following a pay dispute.

Woolery was also known for his time on "Love Connection," where he coined the phrase, "We'll be back in two minutes and two seconds."

Across his career, he hosted several other shows, including "Scrabble" and "Lingo." He was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007.

Later in life, Woolery became a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and often shared his political views on X.