Died at 53
male
Eric William Dane (born Eric William Melvin; November 9, 1972 – February 19, 2026) was an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, including his recurring role as Jason Dean on Charmed, one of his most notable roles was as Dr. Mark Sloan 'Dr. McSteamy' on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2006–2012; 2021). He also played Captain Tom Chandler in the TNT series The Last Ship (2014–2018), Cal Jacobs in the HBO drama series Euphoria (2019–2026), and FBI Special Agent Nathan Blythe in the Amazon Prime Video crime series Countdown (2025). He appeared in films such as X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Valentine's Day (2010), Burlesque (2010), and Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024). In April 2025, he announced that he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He said his symptoms had begun roughly eighteen months earlier. By June 2025, he had completely lost the use of his right arm, and by October 2025 he was using a wheelchair. He died on February 19, 2026, at the age of 53. From Wikipedia.
In the years 2121 AD, several decades after humanity ("Terrans") has expanded its presence beyond Earth, terraforming and colonizing Venus and Mars. These three planets are "the Homeworlds", the core first of the Terran interplanetary state and later of Neosapien Commonwealth. Not all Terrans are affiliated with the Homeworlds, however: the Pirate Clans, descendants of Terran criminals exiled to the Outer Planets who live off looted Homeworlds' space freighters, are a major independent faction. The Earth Congress dispatches the entire Exofleet, humanity's space-based military, to counter the Pirate threat. With a war with the Pirate Clans looming, an uprising begins among the Neosapiens, an artificial humanoid race coexisting with Terrans. The Neosapiens were used primarily as slaves during the colonization of Mars and Venus and therefore have been engineered to be physically stronger and better adapted to hostile environments than humans. Their mistreatment by Terrans led to the First Neosapien Revolt fifty years earlier, which was mercilessly crushed but had brought some positive changes into their lives. Still not content with his fate, the Neosapien Governor of Mars, Phaeton, sets a new insurrection, codenamed "Operation [Neosapien] Destiny", in motion as soon as the Exofleet leaves to chase after the Pirate Clans. The absence of the Exofleet is also a part of Phaeton's plan as it enables the Neosapiens' capture of the Homeworlds without much effort.
