Katherine Heigl posted a lengthy tribute to Eric Dane, who died last week at 53 after a battle with ALS. The actress shared the screen with Dane on ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy for several seasons.
“I debated this post for days,” Heigel shared. “I have never been comfortable grieving publicly. I share my tears, my stories and my memories with those I’m closest to and more times than not I share them only with the heavens alone. But that silence can often look like a lack of care which I could not abide here.”
She continued, speaking directly to Dane’s ex-wife and daughters, “Rebecca, Billie, Georgia… There is so little, if in fact anything, one can say about a tragic loss like yours. All the ‘I’m sorries’ and ‘my prayers are with you’ ring a bit hollow in the midst of so much pain and grief. So I will say the only thing that has ever brought me peace when I’ve lost someone I love. It is Robert Frost’s poem ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ of which I have tattooed on my body in my parent’s handwriting so I will never forget that the moment of gold was worth it.”
Heigl recounted the poem’s lines, which read: “Natures first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, so Dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.”
She concluded, “I will never forget Eric’s gold and I will forever be grateful I got to bask in it for even a brief moment in time. Thank you for sharing him with us. God Speed my old friend…here’s to your next great adventure.”
View this post on InstagramLove Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Several of Dane’s Grey’s costars have shared their memories of the actor in the days following his death. “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,” Patrick Dempsey said during an appearance on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. “He was bedridden, and it was very hard for him to swallow. So the quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly.”
Dane was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in April 2025 and died less than one year after that. “He did an incredible job at bringing awareness to this horrible disease in those remaining days, which was really brave of him to do, and it just reminds us that we all have to celebrate every day like it’s our last day,” Dempsey said.
Shonda Rhimes, the creator and showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy, praised Dane in a social media post as a “truly a gifted actor whose portrayal of Dr. Mark Sloan left an indelible mark on the series and on audiences around the world.” Rhimes continued, “We are grateful for the artistry, spirit, friendship and humanity he shared with us for so many years. Our hearts are with his family, loved ones, and all who were touched by his work.”
Kate Walsh, who also starred on Grey’s Anatomy, paid tribute to Dane. “I literally remember my very first scene with Eric…an elevator scene at Seattle Greys,” she shared on Instagram, alongside a carousel of photos from the set. “So, so long ago. I believe it was his first scene on the show too and he was nervous. He was so handsome and I thought ‘but can this guy act?’ and of course he could, and did, and the rest is history.”
From Rolling Stone US
