Alyssa Milano Pens Touching Tribute To Honor 'Charmed' Co-Star Eric Dane After His Passing

Actor Eric Dane passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2026, after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). He was 53 years old.

Dane shared his diagnosis in April 2025 after a diagnosis in 2024.

ALS progression is usually fast, with an average life expectancy of 2–5 years from symptom onset. It is often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease after the New York Yankee's first baseman whose battle with ALS—depicted in the 1942 film The Pride of the Yankees starring Gary Cooper as Gehrig—captured the world's attention. Gehrig died at age 37 in 1941.

There is still no treatment or cure for ALS.

Dane's career began when he was 19 with an uncredited appearance on Saved By the Bell, but he wouldn't gain global fame until he was cast in Shonda Rhimes' long-running hospital drama Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan opposite Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd as love interests for titular character Dr. Meredith Grey.

Dane appeared on Grey's Anatomy as a member of the main cast from 2006-2012 before returning for an appearance in 2021 as part of Dr. Grey's coma dream.

He went on to star as Capt. Tom Chandler in TNT's The Last Ship (2014–2018) and Cal Jacobs in HBO's Euphoria (2019–2026) with the final episodes he was featured in released this year. He was also a series regular throughout 2025 on the Amazon Prime series Countdown.

But before that level of fame, Dane spent two years, for 9 episodes in 2003–2004, on the Aaron Spelling series about the Halliwell witch sisters, Charmed. Dane played Alyssa Milano's character Phoebe Halliwell's love interest, Jason Dean.

After learning of Dane's death, Milano posted a tribute to her on-screen boyfriend on Instagram. She included two photos, one of Dane with his family and one of herself with Dane from the set of Charmed accompanied by the Beatles song "Black Bird."

Milano wrote:

"I can’t stop seeing that spark in Eric’s eye right before he’d say something that would either make you spit out your drink or rethink your entire perspective. He had a razor-sharp sense of humor. He loved the absurdity of things. He loved catching people off guard."

"And when it came to his daughters [Billie Beatrice, 15, and Georgia Geraldine, 14] and [wife] Rebecca [Gayheart], everything in him softened. He carried them with him even in rooms where they weren’t present. You could see it in the way his voice changed when he said their names. A breathtakingly beautiful family."

She continued:

"The spark. The mischief. The tenderness he kept guarded but never totally hidden."

"He convinced me to get my pixie cut and my nose piercing. He also was with me on the walk when we found Lucy, my beloved rescue chihuahua. He called me 'Milano,' as if it was the only part of my name that mattered."

"My heart is with the people who were lucky enough to be his home."

Dane's widow, actor Rebecca Gayheart replied in the comments:

"Thank you Alyssa— beautiful tribute. He adored you so 💔"

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Milano responded:

"[Rebecca] please reach out if I can be of service to you and the girls.❤️"

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People offered their condolences in the comments.

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Many noted Milano had previously lost Charmed castmates Julian McMahon, who played Milano's husband Cole Turner, and Shannon Doherty, who played Halliwell sister Prue.

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Doherty died in 2024 after a long battle with breast cancer and McMahon died in 2025 from metastatic head and neck cancer.

Others noted the importance of ALS awareness.

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Some sources have listed Gayheart as Dane's ex-wife, but the pair never divorced. Gayheart filed for divorce in 2018 and the pair separated for several years.

But in 2025, Gayheart rescinded her petition for divorce in light of Dane's health condition and for the sake of their daughters. The couple moved back into a single household for the remainder of Dane's life.