Eric Dane, Grey’s Anatomy Star, Dead at 53 After ALS Battle

And despite his difficult health battle, Eric did what he could to remain positive. 

“I wanna ring every bell,” he told California congressman Eric Swalwell in a TikTok video shared by the politician in September. “I have two daughters at home. I wanna see them graduate college, get married, maybe have grandkids.”

Eric added, “I wanna be there for all that. So, I’m gonna fight until the last breath on this one.”

The fight in him was also fueled by hope to be there for his daughters Billie, 15, and Georgia, 13, especially as his own father died when Eric was 7 years old.

“I’m angry because my father was taken from me when I was young, and there’s a very good chance I’m going to be taken from my girls while they’re very young,” the actor, whose wife filed to dismiss their divorce last March, tearfully said in an interview with Good Morning America in June. “At the end of the day, I just want to spend time with my family and work a little bit if I can.” 

While Eric had a long and varied career, it was his role as Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy that gave him a whole new fan base. And while the character was known as McSteamy, Eric didn’t quite see himself the same way.