NEED TO KNOW
- Eric Dane died on February 19 at age 53, less than a year after announcing his ALS diagnosis in April 2025.
- Patrick Dempsey revealed Dane had been bedridden and was losing his ability to speak and swallow in his final days.
- Grey’s Anatomy co-stars including Kim Raver, Kevin McKidd, Sarah Drew, and executive producer Krista Vernoff joined a wave of celebrity tributes.
The Grey’s Anatomy universe woke up on Friday morning to some of the saddest news it’s had to process in years. Eric Dane — Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan himself — died on Thursday, February 19, at 53, following a courageous and very public battle with ALS. Less than a year had passed since he went public with his diagnosis, and the speed of the disease’s progression was something even those closest to him were still visibly struggling to process.
His family confirmed the news in a statement: “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS. He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world.”
Patrick Dempsey — McDreamy to Dane’s McSteamy, and one of his closest friends from their years on set together — was in London on Friday morning when he appeared on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and delivered the kind of tribute that doesn’t leave a dry eye in any room.
“I just woke up this morning and it was very sad to read the news. It’s hard to put into words. I feel really so sad for his children,” Dempsey said. “I was corresponding with him. We were texting, so I spoke to him about a week ago and some friends of ours went in to see him and he was really starting to lose his ability to speak.”
The details Dempsey shared about Dane’s final days are gutting. He explained that Dane was bedridden, adding, “It was very hard for him to swallow, so the quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly.”
Still, Dempsey was clear about how he wants to hold onto the memory of his friend. “He was the funniest man — he was such a joy to work with and I want to just remember him in that spirit because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it,” Dempsey said. “He had a great sense of humor. He was easy to work with. We got along instantly. First scene was him, you know, in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on looking amazing, making you feel completely out of shape and insignificant.”
There’s something so quintessentially Grey’s about that image — and Dempsey leaned into it with exactly the warmth you’d hope for.
“We hit it off because it was never really any competition,” he continued. “There was just this wonderful mutual respect, he’s wickedly intelligent and I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives and the real loss is for us who don’t have them anymore.”
Dempsey had actually been trying to get Dane a guest spot on his new Fox series Memory of a Killer in the weeks before his death. In a January interview with Parade, Dempsey revealed the ALS diagnosis had made it “virtually impossible” for Dane to appear. “It’s very hard for him, but I do try to stay in touch and see how he’s doing,” he said at the time. “I think he’s been incredibly courageous in the face of this horrible disease.”
He also praised Dane’s efforts to use his platform for good right until the very end. “He did an incredible job at bringing awareness to this horrible disease and those remaining days and it just reminds us that we all have to celebrate every day like it’s our last day,” Dempsey said.
The tributes from the broader Grey’s family came fast and from the heart. Kim Raver, who played Dr. Teddy Altman and was Dane’s onscreen wife, shared a throwback photo of the two of them in scrubs on Instagram. “Eric was a light. You’d see it effortlessly shine from him on the set of Grey’s as well as when he was with Rebecca and the girls. During filming, he’d get this twinkle in his eye and with a mischievous look, he would deliver with perfect comedic timing, a line of dialogue that would floor you!”
Longtime Grey’s executive producer Krista Vernoff went deep, sharing a screenshot of a 2021 text exchange she had with Dane when she convinced him to return to the show for a fan-favorite cameo. “I called Eric and he answered immediately. I said will you come back? I know it’s a pandemic and shooting is a nightmare but we’re gonna do it on the beach and keep our social distance because the world needs joy and Mark and Lexie are joy. He said where and when,” Vernoff shared.
“When I came to set that day, he said, ‘we’re breaking the rules and hugging now right?’ The thing I will remember most about Eric Dane are his hugs. The best hugs. Oh my friend. I wish you peace,” she added.
Kevin McKidd posted a photo of Dane on his Instagram Stories with a simple “Rest in Peace, Buddy,” and Sarah Drew echoed the same sentiment on hers. Ashton Kutcher — Dane’s Valentine’s Day co-star and apparently a longtime fantasy football league teammate — wrote on X, “The Franklin strip fanatics fantasy football league will miss Mr. Eric Dane. We know you’ll be watching from the booth. Miss you, buddy. Let’s keep fighting the fight to solve ALS.”
The Franklin strip fanatics fantasy football league will miss Mr. Eric Dane. We know you’ll be watching from the booth. Miss you, buddy. Let’s keep fighting the fight to solve ALS. pic.twitter.com/00TtwmQHAK
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) February 20, 2026Dane announced his ALS diagnosis exclusively to People in April 2025. Throughout his journey with the disease, he became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight. He even sat down with Diane Sawyer for a deeply personal interview, describing how the disease had taken hold of his body. “My left side is functioning; my right side has completely stopped working,” he told her in June 2025.
Dane also filmed his scenes for Euphoria‘s third season before his death — a final gift to fans of the HBO drama, and a testament to the kind of dedication that clearly defined who he was as a performer and as a person.
His family closed their statement with words that feel like the right note to end on: “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received.”
