Tragic Eric Dane 'Lost Ability to Speak' Before Death aged 53: 'Grey's Anatomy' Co-Star Patrick Dempsey Reveals ALS left Actor 'Bedridden' in Moving Tribute
Patrick Dempsey says Eric Dane's 'quality of life' rapidly deteriorated before his former co-star's death was confirmed on Thursday.
Feb. 20 2026, Published 9:29 a.m. ET
Eric Dane lost his ability to speak before his tragic death, according to his Grey's Anatomy co-star Patrick Dempsey.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Dempsey, 60, explained how his former castmate’s "quality of life" rapidly deteriorated in recent weeks, while paying trouble to his friend.
Sad Final Days Of Tragic Co-Star
Dempsey also claimed his 'Grey's Anatomy' co-star was 'bedridden' and found it 'hard to swallow.'
The Euphoria star lost his battle with ALS on Thursday and Dempsey revealed he last spoke to him "about a week ago" and wished to remember him for the "moments of fun that we had together."
Speaking on Virgin Radio on Friday morning, Dempsey said: "I just woke up this morning and it was very sad to read the news. It's hard to put into words. I feel really so sad for his children."
He continued: "I was corresponding with him, we were texting so 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.
"He was bedridden and it was very hard for him to swallow so the quality of his life was deteriorating so rapidly.
'He Was The Funniest Man'
Dempsey lauded his late co-star's humor in moving tribute to the tragic actor.
"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.
"He had a great sense of humour. 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."
Dempsey says they forged a bond because they were never in competition with each other.
He explained: "There was just this wonderful mutual respect.
Raising Awareness Of 'Horrible Disease'
Dempsey also paid tribute to Dane for shining a light on the 'horrible disease' that is ALS.
"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 and the real loss is for us who don't have them anymore.
"He did an incredible job at bringing awareness to this horrible disease and those remaining days and it just reminds us that we all have to celebrate every day like it's our last day.
"It's something that we have to remember and certainly in a world where 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."
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The veteran actor laid into Donald Trump while discussing his pal's tragic death.
Dempsey added: "Spend time with our families, do things that are better, that benefit of other people to be of service to be kind, to be loving... these values.
"With our leadership unfortunately that we're seeing around the world and certainly in America with this horrible, corrupt government that is currently running America, we have to remember to treat our neighbours and our friends with the right values."
The Grey's Anatomy actor's death was announced on Thursday, less than a year after he revealed that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
