How Eric Dane gave his final months to 'moving the needle' on ALS
eric dane has died at 53, 10 months after confirming he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the months after going public, he focused on fundraising, joined a research board and used acting to lift the profile of the disease.
How Eric Dane spent his final months
The 53-year-old shared in April 2025 that he had been diagnosed with ALS, a progressive condition that causes loss of cells controlling voluntary muscle movement. He told Time magazine, "I'm trying to save my life, " and was named one of its 100 most influential people in health.
In September he helped to launch a three-year campaign aiming to raise more than $1bn in federal funding for ALS research. By December he had joined the board of Target ALS, which said he helped one of its campaigns surpass a fundraising target of $500, 000. He described the effort as a way to "finally push toward ending this disease" and said it was imperative to share his journey because he no longer felt his life was only about him.
Bringing ALS to the screen
He returned to television to bring the experience to viewers: in November he appeared on an episode of the medical drama Brilliant Minds as a firefighter struggling to accept help after an ALS diagnosis. The character wrestled with sharing the diagnosis with his family and with accepting the reality of progressive care; in one scene the firefighter rejects the idea of spending his last days hooked up to a machine.
After the episode, the show's creator said the cast and crew gave Dane a 10-minute standing ovation. He told a virtual panel the following month that playing a role "so close" to his own life had been challenging but "cathartic, " and he used the appearance to raise awareness of what can be done to combat ALS amid bureaucratic hurdles to research and care.
From one-episode guest to a defining TV presence
eric dane was best known for playing Dr. Mark Sloan, nicknamed McSteamy, on the hospital drama Grey's Anatomy. He was initially hired for a single episode but proved so resonant that the role expanded into a long-running presence on the show. That performance helped make him a recognisable face long before his public campaign on ALS.
Across interviews and public appearances in his final year, he framed his activism as both personal and collective: fundraising and board service were meant to accelerate research, while dramatic work was intended to show families what the disease looks like and to open difficult conversations about care.
The three-year federal funding campaign he helped launch in September will continue its push to raise more than $1bn for ALS research.
