His later years unfolded as a very different kind of performance: an open struggle with throat cancer that took his natural voice but never diminished his resolve. Even after undergoing a tracheostomy and enduring grueling treatments, he found his way back to the screen in “Top Gun: Maverick,” where AI helped reconstruct his voice as his body carried the marks of his illness. Behind the celebrated persona was a father, a collaborator, and a complex, intensely dedicated artist whose absence will be felt for generations.
continued on next page
