ALBAWABA - Beloved actor Eric Dane dies after courageous ALS battle.
Eric Dane, who played the charming plastic surgeon with the nickname "McSteamy" on the hit ABC medical program "Grey's Anatomy," has died. He was 53 years old.
Melissa Bank, who worked as his publicist, revealed that he had died. He had been treated for ALS, a neurological disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease that makes it hard for people to move their muscles, speak, and finally breathe on their own.
In the statement, Ms. Bank said, "He spent his last days with close friends, his loving wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world."
Eric Dane died 10 months after telling People magazine in April 2025 that he had ALS. He later talked about how hard it was to live with that situation as it got worse in interviews and on social media. People who have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or A.L.S., usually only live for two to five years. Clinical studies for potential therapies, however, have given people hope that they can extend their lives by a few months.
In 2025, Mr. Dane told Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America," "I will never forget those three letters." "I'll take care of it as soon as I wake up." During the conversation, he talked about how his right arm had stopped working. He also said, "It's not a dream."
As part of a program to help patients in September 2025, Mr. Dane sat in a chair and said, "I am an actor." His speech was a little slurred. I'm a dad, and now I live with ALS. He said that they should "finally, finally push toward ending this disease" and raise money for study.
David William Dane was born in San Francisco on November 8, 1972. His parents, William Dane (an architect and interior designer) and Leah (Cohn) Dane (a housewife), raised him. His brother was younger than him.
As a high school student, Mr. Dane was excellent at sports, and after starring in a production of Arthur Miller's play "All My Sons," he became interested in acting.
It was 1993 when he moved to Los Angeles, and his first TV show was "The Wonder Years." That led to small parts on hit TV shows like "Saved by the Bell" and "Married With Children."
Eric Dane got recurring roles as supporting characters because he looked like a boy. His first role was as a doctor on the ABC medical drama “Gideon’s Crossing.” His second role was as a newspaper owner in San Francisco and Alyssa Milano's character Phoebe's love interest in “Charmed,” the CW show about three sister witches.
Eric Dane also acted in movies. In 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand," he played a mutant who could change into different versions of himself. Two years later, he co-starred with Sebastian Tunney as their workplace friend in the movie “Marley & Me,” which was based on real events and was about married reporters who have a crazy yellow Labrador.
He married Rebecca Gayheart in 2004, and she and their two girls, Billie Beatrice and Georgia, were all there when he died.
"Grey's Anatomy," a popular soap opera medical drama on TV in 2006, provided Mr. Dane with his breakthrough role.
Mr. Dane played Dr. Mark Sloan, the good-looking, blue-eyed head of plastic surgery at a made-up Seattle hospital. Every week, his character caused trouble. Many of the nurses, residents, and even visiting doctors called him "McSteamy" because of how steamy he was and how he talked.
One scene made him famous: after a hot shower, he was shirtless and put a white towel around his waist. This scene was called the "towel scene."
After the fact, Mr. Dane said he had no idea how famous the scene would become.
In the talk with Ms. Sawyer in 2025, he said, "At the time, it was just another scene to me." "I remember a nice man blowing smoke at me as I walked out of the bathroom."
Mr. Dane has been in 139 episodes of the show, which has been one of ABC's most popular since 2005.
McSteamy depicted one aspect of Mr. Dane's work. A fearless and strict Navy captain, he played the lead role in the five-season dystopian suspense show "The Last Ship."
Mr. Dane kept working after being told what was wrong.
In the most recent season of the HBO thriller “Euphoria,” he played the father of Nate Jacobs, who was played by Jacob Elordi.
And in November 2025, Mr. Dane used his own experiences to play a firefighter on NBC's medical thriller "Brilliant Minds" who is having trouble getting his family to accept his ALS diagnosis on the show.
His book, "Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments," will come out in 2026 through Open Field, Maria Shriver's publishing brand at Penguin Random House.
Mr. Dane discussed his time as McSteamy and how he didn't take the fans seriously in an interview with Conan O'Brien in 2015.
He told her, "It would be weird if you did."
He discussed his new job as ship's captain and made jokes about putting on weight while sitting at the wheel and barking orders. "I'm going to let it go."
He also said, "I no longer care."
