Tom Cruise opened his highly anticipated CinemaCon appearance on Thursday with a moving tribute to his “Top Gun” co-star, Val Kilmer. Kilmer died Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Kilmer died Tuesday night in Los Angeles from pneumonia, his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, told The New York Times and The Associated Press. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered,

Kilmer portrayed Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazanski in the 1986 “Top Gun” film starring Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. The two were rival fighter pilots who eventually became friends. The film catapulted both Kilmer and Cruise's careers, leading to a slew of box office hits for the two movie stars.

Fellow actors, industry figures, fans, and family are mourning the death of Val Kilmer.Kilmer died from pneumonia at age 65 on April 1, according to his daughter Mercedes. The award-winning actor, who starred in 1980s and ’90s blockbusters Top Gun and Batman Forever and was also known for portraying musician Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors,

Directors including Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Mann have paid tribute to actor Val Kilmer, following his death aged 65. Kilmer starred in some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 90s,