Friday, June 12, 2026

RIP Eric Dane, 53, “Euphoria,” “Grey’s Anatomy” Actor Nearly A Year After Cruel ALS Diagnosis Announcement

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So sad to report the death of actor Eric Dane.

He was 53, and his career was just getting better and better.

But a year ago or so he revealed his ALS diagnosis, a death sentence that he and his family didn’t deserve.

I knew Eric a little bit. Many years ago he was diagnosed with skin cancer, and the paparazzi ran after him in public without constraint. It was embarrassing, and I told him that. We bonded immediately.

I also knew Eric because he married Rebecca Gayheart, whom I’d also known a long time. And even though they would have divorced had it not been for the ALS, they were still very close.

Eric became popular as “Dr. McSteamy” on “Grey’s Anatomy.” But eventually, like most actors on that show, he was killed off. He had a lot of credits, but the big hit, “Euphoria” brought him back. He played Jacob Elordi’s father so brilliantly, and should have had an Emmy nomination.

ALS is such a cruel disease. Eric was felled as if he were a redwood cut down in the forest. Please go to ProjectALS.org and give them money. That’s all we can do.

Condolences to Rebecca and the family. Tragic.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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