This extraordinary autobiography by Val Kilmer was good for my heart and soul

"Death may come, Dylan may come. And there isn't much we can do about it." ~ Val Kilmer

"Passion, focus, and unpredictability," - in the Actors Studio interview in 2001, Val Kilmer used these words to describe himself. He is also enigmatic and idealistic, charming, perplexing, and purely, completely himself. I completed I'm Your Huckleberry, his 305 page autobiography, within two days after seeing the documentary VAL and wanting to know more about this incredibly creative person; I could not put the book down. If you don't have a smattering of a crush and fall in love with him at least a half a dozen times while reading his autobiography, you're a stronger person than I am.

The book is a stunning, poetic work of art. HE is a poetic work of art who loves to learn from art. Val says, "Like all true stories, mine includes extreme chiaroscuro, dazzling light and wretched darkness." Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

In my opinion, Val is one of our greatest actors; don't believe me, watch him as Doc Holliday, Mark Twain, Jim Morrison, and more. "To get into Jim's cloudy mind, I required absolute clarity."

Post tracheotomy, Val still lives on his own passionate terms and shares with readers raw from his heart (with a splash of internal rhyming and alliteration) his poetry, humor, hopes, dreams both literal and figuratively, and a gorgeous, guileless nature. He writes about his loves, losses, and instinctual, proactive, non-practical (but sometimes practical) artistic choices. His is a truly fascinating, intense life; not many trines in his astrology I'd guess.

He was born to be a great actor, "losing himself and finding himself at the same time," and does so fully. "What does it mean to be called a ham? Was I am ham? I was naturally and inordinately theatrical. I liked to carry on. I liked attention. I liked extravagant speech. I like to emote. I liked to talk. It didn't matter that I usually didn't know what I was talking about. And I loved it when dramatists elevated talk to poetry. So I did the same. I started writing dramas and poems. Some might have been painfully bad, but some might have shown signs of promise."

Also this: "Gaining a reputation as a cooperative thespian is not a bad thing. I do not condemn my brothers and sisters who have developed personalities pleasing to directors. I have, in fact, pleased dozens of directors. Others I have not. And when I have not, it isn't through ego. It's simply because i have connected with a character and must honor that connection. How to do that is an ongoing lesson..."

Val, who was "more accustomed to giving passion, less familiar with receiving it" on a filmset, shares so richly of his experiences I felt them. As a poetic traveler and Shakespearean, who dislikes the Valley where I was raised for a few years, I relate deeply to many of Val's life themes including this: "Lose Chatsworth, find Elizabethan England. Find Shakespeare. And having found Shakespeare, never look back," and traipsing through the green Irish countryside and reading out loud Yeats' immortal "The Lake of Innisfree," and loving Harry Nilsson and Bob Dylan.

Some bits of his book are purely poetic:
"Marlon was my guy. It wasn't about being flawlessly eloquent like Lawrence Olivier or John Gielgud. It wasn't about being suave like Cary Grant or homespun like Gary Cooper. It was about the power of silence. The long, pregnant pause. The understatement. The boiling subtext. The unexpressed. The mystery. The mumbling. Trying as we all do in life to make sense of a moment. The rage that remains inside. The penetrating look. Eyes slightly shifting. Lips slightly curling. The beauty of subterfuge."

Some are funny:
"It goes like this, Val," he said, "I'm the bad guy. You're the good guy." ~ Sam Shepard to Val during the filming of Thunderheart when Val got wrapped up in character dissection.

Some sad and observant:
Writing about the paramedics who came to get him when he threw up blood in Cher's guesthouse: "I was barely able to stand. When they put me on a stretcher and got me inside, they kept yapping about their recent bowling tournament. I was hardly reassured."

Some heartrending and insightful:
And after losing his speech due to the tracheotomy: "They say that when one of your five senses is compromised, you can feel the others become heightened. My speech was compromised, but I was seeing and feeling things I had never seen or felt before."

Some are just all that:
"When I stopped focusing on finding that perfect wife, that energy stream was channeled into other equally wild and mystical avenues. I longed for a deeper layer of self-exploration. I made a decision that, rather than looking for Love, I would let Love be me, Let Love be my life, Let Love seep through the pages of this, my life story."

I haven't this kind of powerful reaction to a book in decades. Val's book spoke to me. ( )

REVIEW: I’m not sure why I was intrigued with this book. I checked it out at my library (and kept it long after it was due back). I don’t follow the entertainment world and probably couldn’t name more than a handful of stars. This book gave a poignant reality to the glittery illusion of an actor’s life. His comments, his poetry, his miracles. It is an inspirational work of a sometimes troubled man. And yet he maintained his faith and purpose. Well done!

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Legendary actor Val Kilmer shares the stories behind his most beloved roles, reminisces about his star-studded career and love life, and reveals the truth behind his recent health struggles in a remarkably candid autobiography.

Val Kilmer has played many iconic roles over his nearly four-decade film career. A table-dancing Cold War agent in Top Secret! A troublemaking science prodigy in Real Genius. A brash fighter pilot in Top Gun. A swashbuckling knight in Willow. A lovelorn bank robber in Heat. A charming master of disguise in The Saint. A wise-cracking detective in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Of course, Batman, Jim Morrison and the sharp-shooting Doc Holliday.

But who is the real Val Kilmer? With I’m Your Huckleberry—published ahead of next summer’s highly anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick, in which Kilmer returns to the big screen as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky—the enigmatic actor at last steps out of character and reveals his true self.

In this uniquely assembled memoir—featuring vivid prose, snippets of poetry and rarely-seen photos—Kilmer reflects on his acclaimed career, including becoming the youngest actor ever admitted to the Juilliard School’s famed drama department, determinedly campaigning to win the lead part in The Doors, and realizing a years-long dream of performing a one-man show as his hero Mark Twain. He shares candid stories of working with screen legends Marlon Brando, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr. and Robert De Niro, and recounts high-profile romances with Cher, Cindy Crawford, Daryl Hannah, and former wife Joanne Whalley. He chronicles his spiritual journey and lifelong belief in Christian Science, and describes travels to far-flung locales such as a scarcely inhabited island in the Indian Ocean where he suffered from delirium and was cared for by the resident tribe. And he reveals details of his recent throat cancer diagnosis and recovery—about which he has disclosed little until now.

While containing plenty of tantalizing celebrity anecdotes, I’m Your Huckleberry—taken from the famous line Kilmer delivers as Holliday in Tombstone—is ultimately a singularly written and deeply moving reflection on mortality and the mysteries of life. ( )

A memoir type autobiography by an actor who made his mark in a number of good movies but never attained the status of super star. Val certainly is talented and was able to do much in his career that extends to the present though definitely limited now by his personal challenges. A number of interesting things he covered on topics I was not aware of about him.

He certainly squired some big names of entertainment that was one big surprise as I was not aware of his time with Cher, Darryl Hannah, and Cindy Crawford to name a few. I was also not aware of his commitment to his faith Christian Science. He contracted throat cancer but spends very little time on how it came about and possible cause like smoking. So though we get some good insights to his character there is that hidden aura also in play here. ( )

This book was... interesting. I didn't know much about Val other than the movies I'd seen about him but a lot of this book was which celebrity women he's been with, how good he is at everything, his career, all the roles he's turned down, bizarre poetry, and a lot of spiritual beliefs about LOVE and seeing angels and having premonitions. In chapter one he said that he had a crush on all his readers but I can't say I necessarily return that feeling. It was interesting learning some Hollywood stuff BUT... he came across as pretty pompous. So much name dropping and wild claims about how he could do anything. I would rate this as a 2, but I'm bumping it up to a 3 because of the entertainment value and pictures. ( )

Many actors who write their memoirs spend a great deal of time discussing conquests, vilifying old rivals, or overindulging in detailing every bit of minutia they can, to the point that the reader wishes their editor had been more forceful. Val Kilmer’s I’m Your Huckleberry, however, takes a different approach. His memoir focuses on a journey of love and artistic self-discovery. He is not afraid to be honest with his reader, admitting his faults and his mistakes, while never giving into base gossip and the opportunity to call out those who have wronged him. If he feels someone was wrong, he says so matter-of-factly, but he doesn’t linger or indulge in personal attacks. He even admits where he shares the blame, which is refreshing in its honesty and shows his commitment to love.

Kilmer does give some inside information on making his films, but this is not a behind-the-scenes book. Rather, Kilmer explores why he chose certain roles, how he sought artistic satisfaction in them, and how every experience was about finding the love. He discusses how certain roles didn’t turn out as he expected or where he may have created problems in his approach, but he makes himself all the more relatable to his reader when he discusses taking some roles just for the opportunity to work with his idols, letting his inner fanboy out.

Kilmer’s memoir is easily one of the most affirming works of this type and is exactly what the world needs right now in this time of uncertainty. Fans of Val Kilmer will find even more reason to like him while aspiring actors should use this as a guide on how to approach their calling in order to get the most fulfillment out of it. ( )