Patrick Dempsey is remembering his late friend and fellow Grey’s Anatomy co-star, Eric Dane, and the final days before the actor’s death on Feb. 19.
The world remembers Dempsey and Dane as McDreamy and McSteamy on Grey’s Anatomy, but for Dempsey, Dane was a colleague, friend, and brave ALS awareness advocate. Dane died on Feb. 19 from complications due to ALS. Now, Dempsey is sharing devastating details from the actor’s last days.
“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,” 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,” the actor added.
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.
Despite the heartbreaking details surrounding Dane’s death and his disease, Dempsey was adamant about remembering Dane before his ALS diagnosis. “He was the funniest man. He was such a joy to work with, and I want to just remember him in that spirit,” he said.
Dempsey went on to recall his days portraying Dr. Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy alongside Dane, who played Dr. Mark Sloan. “We got along instantly,” Dempsey remembered, adding, “You know, first scene was him in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on, looking amazing, making me feel completely out of shape and insignificant.” The actor continued: “There was just this wonderful mutual respect. He’s wickedly intelligent, and I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives. The real loss is for us who don’t have him anymore.”
Dempsey ended his remarks with a universal note: “In a world with there is just so much crisis and there is so much tragedy that we really need to be grateful for every moment that we have, spend time with our families, do things that are better, that are the benefit of other people, to be of service, to be kind, to be loving, and these values with our leadership unfortunately that We’re seeing around the world and certainly in America, with America, with this horrible, you know, corrupt government that is currently running America, we have to remember to treat our neighbors and our friends with the right values.”
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Dane’s family announced the actor’s death on Thursday in a statement. “With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon following a courageous battle with ALS,” read the statement. “He spent his final days surrounded by dear friends, his devoted wife, and his two beautiful daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the center of his world.
“Throughout his journey with ALS, Eric became a passionate advocate for awareness and research, determined to make a difference for others facing the same fight,” his family added. “He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always. Eric adored his fans and is forever grateful for the outpouring of love and support he’s received. The family has asked for privacy as they navigate this impossible time.”
From Rolling Stone US
