Dane died Feb. 19 at the age of 53, almost a year after he announced his ALS diagnosis.

Kevin McKidd remembers working with Eric Dane after Grey’s Anatomy season 22 finale tribute: ‘He’s missed’

Dane died Feb. 19 at the age of 53, almost a year after he announced his ALS diagnosis.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Popsugar.

EW's editorial guidelines

May 8, 2026 11:34 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Kevin McKidd and Eric Dane on 'Grey's Anatomy'. Credit:

- *Grey's Anatomy's* season 22 finale featured a "very intentional" tribute to its late alum, Eric Dane.

- "He's missed. He will always be part of the *Grey's* family," *Grey's* star Kevin McKidd said of the emotional callbacks featuring Dane. "To see him in those montages was always a joy."

- Dane, best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan on the medical drama, died Feb. 19 at age 53 following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Thursday's season 22 finale of *Grey’s Anatomy* may have marked a goodbye for Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver, but it also served as another opportunity for the show to pay tribute to late alum Eric Dane.

The episode bidding farewell to McKidd's Owen Hunt and Raver's Teddy Altman featured several emotional callbacks to the show’s past, including a bevy of clips featuring Dane, best known for his role as Dr. Mark Sloan, a.k.a. McSteamy, on the medical drama. The actor died Feb. 19 at age 53 following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

"Yeah, it was very intentional we did that," McKidd told PEOPLE of the flashbacks designed to honor Dane’s legacy on the series. The clips join the previously released montages that the series shared shortly after Dane's death, the first of which was shared to social media and the second at the end of the Feb. 27 episode.

Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd on 'Grey's Anatomy'.

McKidd recalled his first day on set in 2008, sharing that he had been intimidated joining the massive ABC drama. "I met Mark Sloan [Dane] and Derek Shepherd [Patrick Dempsey] at the elevators with Richard Webber [James Pickens Jr.]," he says. "I was terrified — it was such a huge show."

But the actor remembered how his costars were "so welcoming to me," adding, "These were two sort of giants in the TV world at that time, and I'm this new guy showing up on the show — the Scottish theater actor."

"I think Patrick liked me, so he was very welcoming to me," McKidd told the outlet. "I remember he introduced me to Eric and basically vouched for me. Eric was really funny. He had one of the funniest, driest senses of humor that I'd ever come across."

"He had that amazing ability with that character to make everything kind of hilarious," McKidd continued. "He's missed. He will always be part of the *Grey's* family. To see him in those montages was always a joy."

Kevin McKidd details Owen and Teddy’s 'beautiful' ending on 'Grey's' — after initially thinking he should die

Sophia Bush breaks down that 'Grey’s Anatomy' cliffhanger: ‘Gay internet has been asking for this’

Dane joined the medical drama in 2006, two years before McKidd made his debut as Owen. Mark Sloan quickly became a fixture on the Shonda Rhimes-created show despite initially coming on as a guest star, and continually set fan hearts aflutter by living up to his steamy moniker. He remained on the still-running show until the season 9 premiere on Sept. 27, 2012, when the character died from injuries sustained in a plane crash.

But Dane made one more appearance when Ellen Pompeo's Dr. Meredith Grey was in a coma and saw him during a dream sequence in a 2021 episode.

Dane revealed his ALS diagnosis in April 2025, and soon became the face of a public campaign to find federal funding for research on the incurable neurological disease. In September, a noticeably less mobile Dane joined doctors and representatives from the I Am ALS organization for a discussion with California Congressman Eric Swalwell about investing in innovative treatments to ensure access to quality care for those diagnosed with ALS, as well as for their families and researchers.

In December 2025, Dane announced that he had written an autobiography called *Book of Days: A Memoir in Moments*. His decision to do so came from "wak[ing] up every morning, and [being] immediately reminded that this is real — this illness, this challenge and that's exactly why I'm writing this book."

Eric Dane in 2025.

Marvin Joseph/Getty

After Dane's passing, his former costars shared their remembrances and fond memories of working with the late actor.

"One of the things I loved about Eric was his sensitivity and vulnerability, (and intelligence, of course) but he had the gravitas & old soul that made his work magnetic and made him a great friend off set," Kate Walsh wrote in a tribute posted shortly after Dane's death. "In those early days of *Grey’s*, as with most network tv shows, we spent more time with each other than with anyone else and so we became a family of sorts and Eric was such a source of support and love."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Dempsey also shared his memories of the late *Euphoria* star during an interview with *The Chris Evans Breakfast Show* on Feb. 20. "He was the funniest man — he was such a joy to work with and I want to just remember him in that spirit because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it," the actor remembered. "He had a great sense of humor. He was easy to work with, we got along instantly. First scene was him, you know, in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on looking amazing, making you feel completely out of shape and insignificant."

Dane is survived by his wife Rebecca Gayheart and their two daughters, Billie and Georgia.

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Death Tributes

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”