FAREWELL, VAL KILMER

It's tough to choose a favorite among your roles, with Doc Holiday in Tombstone and Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever riding high on the list.

There's also Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the top-earning, Top Gun set; Jim Morrison in The Doors, Simon Templar in The Saint, Dr. Montgomery in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996); and how can we forget Mr. Bonney in TNT's Billy the Kid? 

Of course, the list continues with portrayals in Willow; Red Planet; The Ghost and the Darkness; Twixt; The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986); The Traveler; Dead Girl (1996); The Fourth Dimension; Mindhunters; The Man Who Broke a Thousand Chains; Standing Up; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; Blind Horizon; Bloodworth; True Romance; Wonderland; Comanche Moon; Wyatt Earp's Revenge; A Soldier's Revenge; Thunderheart; Heat; Felon; Gun; Spartan; Columbus Day; Double Identity; Palo Alto; The Thaw; The Missing; The Super; The Real McCoy; The Bad Lieutenant; Paydirt; Alexander; 5 Days of War; Masked and Anonymous; At First Sight; Hard Cash; Port Call of New Orleans; Streets of Blood; Summer Love; The Birthday Cake; The Salton Sea; The Snowman; Wings of Courage; MacGruber; and Top Secret!.  

You also loaned your voice to KITT in the 2008, Knight Rider revival, as well as General Bogardus in animated Delgo and as God and Moses in the animated The Prince of Egypt.

As the media was quick to share, you were known for contention, though at other times, considered playful, but when the camera was on you, Mr. Kilmer, you were always a quintessential actor, with a valuable tendency to redefine any role. Now, the stage of Paradise awaits, where your artistic prowess will continue to spread without care of fault, without fear of end. 

GODSPEED, JOEL SCHUMACHER...

You had a vast and varied directorial career, ranging from the dark and sinister to the bold and bright.

You orchestrated the flashy (and controversial) "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin," along with "The Lost Boys", "Flatliners '90", "Blood Creek", "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" and the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera", not to mention your superb screenplay for Sydney Lumet's spin on "The Wiz". 

However, your cinematic know-how didn't end there, as you also gave us such harried thrillers as "The Number 23"; "Phone Booth"; "Tigerland"; "Trespass"; "8MM"; "A Time to Kill", "The Client" and that melodramatic, cult classic, "Falling Down".

You were you're own man, Mr. Schulmacher, never afraid to do things your own way, regardless of what anyone thought. There's no doubt you had more yet to give, but for the daring exhibitions you did leave us, we'll be forever in your debt. 

RIP RENE AUBERJONOIS...

As the shapeshifting Odo, you became an icon through "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine". 

However, your many portrayals have long set you apart in the acting field  before and after "Trek", where you added depth, humor and contemplation to your roles.

On the big screen, you gave noted performances in "King Kong '76"; "Batman Forever"; "Inspector Gadget"; "Eyes of Laura Mars"; "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"; "The Birdmen"; "The Princess Diaries"; "The Patriot (2000)"; "M*A*S*H"; "Brewster McCloud"; and "The Big Bus", but you were even more prolific on the small screen. 

Among the fine series in which you were featured, there's "Star Trek: Enterprise"; "Stargate SGI"; "The Bionic Woman"; "Wonder Woman"; "Night Gallery"; "The Outer Limits"; "Eerie Indiana"; "Warehouse 13"; "Charlie's Angels"; "The Mod Squad"; "The Rockford Files"; "Harry O"; "Starsky and Hutch"; "L.A. Law"; and of course, "Boston Legal" and "Benson". 

You also loaned your expressive voice to a number of audio books and video games, as well as "The Last Unicorn" and  Disney's "The Little Mermaid".

You spanned many creative sources, Mr. Auberjonois, and did them all tender-loving justice: an actor of many talents, who never failed to put a special spin on the most special of pursuits. 

Caped Crusader Quartet Returns to Cinemas...

To commemorate Batman's 80th birthday, and to mark the 30th anniversary release of Tim Burton's "Batman", DC and WB are relaunching the blockbuster and its sequels to theaters.

Tim Burton's pop-sensation, starring Michael Keaton in the eponymous role, hits theaters for a May 4 in a one-night-only event. 

This is followed by Burton's "Batman Returns" (again with Keaton) on May 6, followed by Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever" (with Val Kilmer in the lead, accompanied by Chris O'Donnell as Robin) on May 12 and "Batman and Robin" (with George Clooney and O'Donnell") on May 14.

The latter, which dared to recapture the panache of "Batman '66", was a polarizing entry, but its controversy led to Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale's acclaimed "Dark Knight" trilogy: nothin' to sneeze at.

Revisit the Caped Crusader quartet this month: one of the most influential superhero stretches in cinema history. (Disc re-releases of all four films are also available for consumption.)