


We're only two months into 2026, and we've already lost a galaxy of stars as Eric Dane joins Catherine O'Hara, James Van Der Beek, and Robert Duvall. Best-known for playing Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan on Grey's Anatomy, Dane first appeared on the show back in 2006 before becoming a series regular in season 3. Known as something of a heartbreaker, McSteamy perished in one of the show's most infamous stunts before making a brief cameo during the pandemic storyline of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).
Of course, Dane was known for other roles, having starred in everything from Charmed to X-Men: The Last Stand, Euphoria to Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Even after Dane went public with his Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) diagnosis in April 2025, Dane appeared in an episode of Brilliant Minds - playing a firefighter struggling with ALS.
One of his final roles was a touching tribute to his daughters as part of Netflix's Famous Last Words series.

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ALS is a rare terminal neurodegenerative disorder that is known for affecting the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, leading to loss of signal that causes muscles to weaken, twitch, and then eventually break down.
Dane was honest in saying he started to notice symptoms at the start of 2024, and by June 2025, he'd lost the use of his right arm and hand.
Still, Dane vowed to fight "until the last breath," even taking this fight to Washington, DC., to speak with U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone as part of the I AM ALS organization. Dane wanted to reauthorize the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, and as a vocal member of the ALS community, it's no surprise that people have tried to raise money in his honor.
Unfortunately, a popular GoFundMe in honor of Dane had its funds placed 'under review' after it raised over half of its $250,000 target in a matter of hours.
Titled “In Honor of Eric Dane,” the GoFundMe was credited to “Friends of the Dane Family” and sought to raise money for Dane's teenage daughters, Billie (15) and Georgia (14).

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, GoFundMe confirmed: "Our Trust and Safety team is still looking into this GoFundMe and has reached out to the organizer to gather additional information. All funds are being safely held by our payment processors during this review process."
An update from The Independent suggests the fund has been authorized, adding that it's now been "verified and the family has been added as the beneficiary."
This comes after Mike McGuinness took to Instagram, saying he'd been a friend of Dane for "almost two decades" and was going to start a GoFundMe to hopefully help his daughters.
McGuinness wrote: "Covid and ALS did a number on his work life and he sadly couldn’t leave his family with the resources he had hoped. A gofundme is being made and I will post it on my story for anyone able to help. Love the ones you’ve got."
With funds continuing to climb and sitting at $337,000 at the time of writing, this also includes a $27,000 donation from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.
Dane has one final role on the way, with a posthumous return as Cal Jacobs in Euphoria season 3 coming in April 2026.